LHA is a popular archive format, especially prevalent in the Amiga and MS-DOS environments. It's a lossless data compression and archiving format, similar in purpose to ZIP or RAR. LHA files are used to bundle multiple files together into a single archive, reducing the overall size of the data through compression. This makes it easier to distribute software, documents, and other files, particularly in the days of slower internet connections and limited storage space. The LHA format employs a variety of compression algorithms, with the most common being LZH (Lempel-Ziv-Huffman). While less common today than ZIP, LHA remains relevant for accessing older archives and legacy software. The format is known for its relatively good compression ratios and its historical significance in the computing world. It was widely used for distributing shareware and freeware on bulletin board systems (BBS) and floppy disks. The LHA format is also notable for its open specification, which has allowed for the development of numerous compatible archivers across different platforms.