SVG image format

Images on the Internet are currently distributed mainly in bitmap formats such as PNG, JPEG, and GIF. Some websites also use proprietary vector formats such as Adobe's SWF (Flash) format or Microsoft's VML. Despite their widespread use, these formats have certain limitations in some cases. In order to improve image distribution and promote graphics applications on the Internet, in 1998 the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) set up a working group tasked with defining 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 users to adopt this format. In January 2003, version 1.1 of SVG was published as a recommendation, notably including "limited" SVG profiles enabling its use on mobile phones. Finally, a new version of SVG (1.2) is currently being specified. It will allow users of the format to go even further in their use of SVG by adding numerous features such as color composition, automatic text layout in shapes, and the ability for SVG to dynamically retrieve data from a server.

In the first part, we will examine the fundamentals of the SVG format by presenting the working group's objectives and the limitations of other formats. We will 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 discusses the different ways these SVG images can be used in development.

Finally, before concluding, we will move away from describing the format to explain more concretely how SVG is used, looking in particular at its various areas of application.