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Also known as: Parity Archive, PAR1
Short for Parity Archive, a family of recovery formats that let a damaged or partly missing download be rebuilt without reposting. PAR1, the 1990s original, could only substitute whole missing files and failed if a file was present but corrupted. PAR2 replaced it and remains standard on binary groups. Loose usage of PAR on forums and in client settings almost always means PAR2.
Browse all terms in Binaries, Encoding & Repair, or see the full Usenet glossary.