Compression
Although SVG benefits developers by exposing its code for both perusal and editing (similar to HTML), its raw code base can result in files that are larger than contemporary formats (such as Flash and GIF). Knowing that file size will still be an issue for some time to come due to bandwidth considerations, the W3C opted to allow a compressed form of SVG.
SVGZ is the acronym used for compressed SVG documents. The “Z” in SVGZ references the “Z” in GZIP, the type of compression used for SVG (as GZIP files generally end with a “.gz” suffix). GZIP is a compression technology originally developed for Unix. It is now an open standard itself: a likely reason why the technology was chosen over other compression technologies.
An SVGZ file is ...
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