Phil Katz

Phillip Walter Katz (November 3, 1962 – April 14, 2000) was a computer programmer best known as the co-creator of the Zip file format for data compression, and the author of PKZIP, a program for creating zip files that ran under DOS. A copyright lawsuit between System Enhancement Associates and Katz's company, PKWARE, Inc., was widely publicized in the BBS community in the late 1980s. Phil Katz's software business was very successful, but he struggled with social isolation and chronic alcoholism in the last years of his life.

Career

Phil Katz graduated from the Computer Science Engineering program at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. After his graduation, he was hired by the Allen-Bradley company as a programmer. He wrote code to run programmable logic controllers, which operated manufacturing equipment on shop floors worldwide for Allen-Bradley's customers.

PKARC and PKWARE