At present many apps and types of files are shared across the internet. The apps and types of files that are being shared require a different file extension. The KML and KMZ are the two file extensions that are used for the geographical locations. The goggle maps and earth usually use these file formats. They are the apps that are used to open these files.
KML vs KMZ
The main difference between kml and kmz is that the kml is the files that are not in the zipped format, whereas the kmz is the file that has the files in the zipped format. The kml is the file format in which the general pictures of the geographical locations are stored, whereas the kmz needs less storage and can store the detailed geographical location of the place. Due to the zipped format of the kmz, these files took less time to share big files as compared to the kml.
The kml is the abbreviation of the Keyhole Markup Language. The kml was first given bg the Keyhole, but in 2004, it was bought by the goggle. The kml is the file format that stores the geographical locations of the earth. They can analyze and store both two-dimensional maps and as well the three-dimensional data of the satellites. The kml files are usually large and require more storage if the detailed geographical image is being stored.
The kmz is the abbreviation of the Keyhole Markup Language zipped. The kmz is nothing but the kml files stored in the zipped format. The kmz is also used to store the geographical locations of the earth. These files format are mainly used to store large kml files in zipped, which compresses them without losing the quality, and these extensions are also used to share these larger files across the internet.
Comparison Table Between KML and KMZ
| Parameters of Comparison | KML | KMZ |
| Full form | The Keyhole Markup Language is the abbreviation of KML. | The KMZ stands for the Keyhole Markup Language zipped. |
| Accessed | The kml is accessed in the goggle maps and earth. | The Kmz files can be accessed in goggle maps and earth only if the zipped file is extracted. |
| Storage | The large files require large storage in the kml extension. | The large files require less space as the files are compressed. |
| Sharing speed | The small files require less time but large files require a long time along with better connectivity for transfer. | The speed of sharing the kmz files is as fast as compared to the kml. |
| Features | The kml extension is easily accessed in the goggle maps and earth. Whereas, the geographical images are used stored in general and not in detail. | The kmz files are used to store large kml files in a compressed format without losing the quality. |
What is KML?
The Kml stands for the Keyhole Markup Language. The Kml is the file extension that was first created by the Keyhole. Later, in 2004 goggle bought it. The kml file extensions are used for the images and files used for navigation. They store the geographical location. The files can be accessed in the goggle maps and earth.
The kml file extension stores the geographical locations. Usually, general locations are stored in them. But if we use it to store the detailed location of a place, it requires a large storage capacity. The sharing of these large files is difficult as they require a large amount of time along with good data quality.
The kml can store the geographical places in both two and three dimensions. The two dimensions include the land ratio and directions, whereas, in three dimensions, geographical location latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes along with the directions are stored in the navigations.
What is KMZ?
The kmz stands for the keyhole markup language zipped. The zipped files were introduced in 1989, and the kmz was later used to store the large files into the compressed format without losing the quality of the kml files. These files are easy to share across the internet and also use less time and data.
The kmz files are the geographical locations that are stored in both two and three dimensions. These files are not accessed using google maps and earth. The reason is that they are compressed and first require extraction of files before accessing them on google earth and maps.
The file extension within the kmz is the kml. The kmz is mainly used to store the data of large storage. This also helps in saving the storage capacity of large files by compressing them. These files usually store the three-dimensional graphical places’ location. The Winzip is the most used app for zipping files and reducing their storage space.
Main Differences Between KML and KMZ
- The KML and KMZ are the abbreviations of Keyhole Markup Language and Keyhole Markup Language zipped, respectively.
- The KML is the file that can be opened in google maps and google earth, whereas the KMZ is the file format that is not supported.
- The KMZ needs the unzipping of files before use, whereas this is not applicable on the KML
- The large files need large storage space in the kml extension, whereas the kmz can store large files in less storage.
- The kml usually stores the geographical location in general, whereas the kmz extension stores the geographical location in more detail.
Conclusion
The kml and kmz are the files used for the same files. They both are used to store the geographical places in the two and three dimensions. At present, the kml and kmz have many alternatives. Yet, the kml and kmz files are mostly by the google apps. The kml files take a lot of space for the maps as compared to the kmz. This is because the kmz is the compressed format of the kml files. Rest they have the same file features and uses.
References
- https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=opIw7LUsrgAC&oi=fnd&pg=PT14&dq=kml&ots=xoKyjFX1B_&sig=vr70uV0OiS4-qokNV55w2mMS5y8
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-18398-5_20