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... format is relatively old and often creates problems when an attempt is made to print on non-PostScript printers and high-resolution image setters. The PS format also has the problem with gray rectangles appearing when viewed in certain programs. Web graphics are made to transfer information through phone lines as quickly as possible and use the information to display images on the computer screen. Web file formats used for this reason are formats, which are made to display lower resolution, usually 72 ppi (pixels per inch) and are smaller files. There is a large variety web graphic file formats.
Two of the most popular Internet file formats are GIF and JPEG. Other less commonly used formats include Windows BMP, XBM, and PNG. The majority of the Internet today relies on these formats. Other web file formats are mainly used by only one corresponding web browser or are outdated.
The GIF format is a bitmap format developed by CompuServe to compress graphics so they were very small and could be used to transfer images through the telephone line quickly. Other advantages the GIF file format provides are the ability to store multiple images per file, which allows animations to be saved in this format and it can use up to 256 colors using one to eight bits (a bit is the smallest unit of information that a computer understands) per pixel. The JPEG file format, or Joint Photographic Experts Group (Miano p. 35) provides the greatest compression of any bitmap format in common use (Miano p. 35). This is why the JPEG format is the most commonly used Internet file format. The Window BMP format supplies good image quality and is one of the simplest formats because it is easy to implement, easy to debug and can viewed without special tools. However, the XBM file format is considered the overall simplest format (Miano p. 31), even over the Windows BMP.
All major web browsers support this file format. PNG or Portable Network Graphics (Miano p. 189) is a fairly new graphic format. With the use of a lossless compression this format supports up to forty-eight bits per pixel in the color images and contains sophisticated color matching. The PNG is becoming an alternative format to use in the place of GIF, because the use of the GIF format is patented. Because the GIF format is patented its use is limited to only those who wish to go through the legal process to do so. These legal problems have caused for development of the GIF format to end.
This coupled with inherent limitations compared to other formats it causing this format to be replaced. The disadvantage of the JPEG format is that because this format uses a lossy compression a certain amount of data is thrown away when images are saved on this format. Also, since compression is applied to JPEG to make the images smaller in data size the image quality may be lower. A significant drawback to the use of the Windows BMP format is that the data size of each image is considerably big, making the format impractical to use as a web graphic. Even though the XBM format is considered the simplest its use is still limited outside Windows. The major disadvantage of the PNG format is that because it is fairly new it requires newer browsers and plug-ins to view its images.
In the long run each computer graphic task have at least two file formats, which will provide the best overall results depending on what the project is. For translation devices (Cohen and Williams p. 105) a TIFF format is the best format to use if the user wishes to transfer an image between Windows and Macintosh computers. However, a PDF format is the best format to use for any other kind of transfer done. For printing images the EPS format is the most suitable for printing on PostScript printers. If the user wishes to print on a non-PostScript printer then TIFF format is the file format of choice. For web graphics a JPEG format is the best to use for photographic images, and the GIF format, soon to be replaced by PNG formats, is best for line-art images, such as icons.
There are several other types graphic formats, which were not covered. Some of these files would include metafile, PDL, VRML, and multimedia formats. Metafiles are formats that may contain either raster or vector graphics data. Page Description Languages (PDL) is used to describe the layout of a printed page of graphics and text. Animation formats are usually collections of raster data that is displayed in a sequence. Multi-dimensional object formats store graphics data as a collection of objects (data and the code that manipulates it) that may be rendered (displayed) in a variety of perspectives.
Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) is a 3 D, object-oriented language used for describing "virtual worlds" (wotsit Internet) networked via the Internet and hyperlinked within the World Wide Web. Multimedia file formats are capable of storing any of the previously mentioned types of data, including sound and video information In conclusion due to the lack of information on file formats available there is a limit to the number of formats discussed. However it is evident by what was discussed that there is no one file format defined as the best in the majority of computer graphic applications. The evidence that each computer graphic task had multiple formats, which could be characterized as the best for the task, supported this. These file formats are constantly being enhanced to take on more duties, so one day there may be one universal format developed, but until then it is best that you use these file formats for their intended uses.
Work Cited Cohen, Sandee, and Williams, Robin, The Non-Designers Scan and Print Book Peachpit Press; Berkeley, California, 2000. Miano, John, Compressed Image File Formats ACM Press; New York, New York, 1999. NC State University. Definition of Graphic File Format Terms NC State University Computer Services. Online.
Available: web March 31, 1999. Oliver, Paul. Wotsit Wotsit Format. Online.
Available: http: // web November 15, 2000. Robert, Debbie. Espresso Graphics Graphic File Format Overview. Online. Available: web UDI Latarre. A Manual to Graphic File Formats Graphic File Formats.
Online. Available: web February 26, 1999.
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