Phar
Phar is the PHP Archive. It groups multiple files into a single one, and allows the direct execution or inclusion of that code.
ext/phar is also a PHP extension, used to create and read the PHAR archives.
Phar archives may be zipped.
<?php
$phar = new Phar('myphar.phar');
$pgz = $phar->convertToExecutable(Phar::TAR, Phar::GZ); // makes myphar.phar.tar.gz
?>