SVG image format

Image distribution on the Internet currently relies mainly on bitmap formats such as PNG, JPEG and GIF. Some websites also use proprietary vector formats, such as Adobe's SWF (Flash) or Microsoft's VML. Despite their widespread use, these formats have certain limitations. To improve image distribution and promote graphic applications on the Internet, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) set up a working group in 1998 to define a new vector image format to overcome the limitations of existing formats and serve as a "standard" on the Web. In September 2001, this working group produced version 1.0 of the SVG ("Scalable Vector Graphics") format recommendation, encouraging Internet players to adopt this format. In January 2003, version 1.1 of SVG was published in the form of a recommendation, including "limited" SVG profiles for use on cell phones. Finally, a new version of SVG (1.2) is currently being specified, which will enable users of the format to go even further in their use of SVG by adding numerous functionalities such as color composition, automatic layout of text in shapes or the ability for SVG to dynamically retrieve data from a server.

In the first part, we'll look at the foundations of the SVG format, outlining the objectives of the working group and the limitations of other formats. We'll also look at the consequences this has had on the W3C's definition of the format.

The second part describes the structure of an SVG file by building an example. It also looks at the different ways in which SVG images can be used in development projects.

Finally, before concluding, we'll move away from the description of the format to explain how SVG is used in more concrete terms, by looking at the different fields of application.