Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!slug!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!haven!udel!new
From: new@udel.EDU (Darren New)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Call for Device Independant Output, file format and user-interface standards on the Amiga
Keywords: standards user-interface output graphics device independant
Message-ID: <21484@estelle.udel.EDU>
Date: 8 Jun 90 14:40:56 GMT
References: <1990May26.065525.1415@watserv1.waterloo.edu> <1866@corpane.UUCP> <2059@dali> <12911@netcom.UUCP>
Reply-To: new@ee.udel.edu (Darren New)
Organization: University of Delaware
Lines: 25

In article <12911@netcom.UUCP> mcmahan@netcom.UUCP (Dave Mc Mahan) writes:
> In a previous article, icsu8053@ming.cs.montana.edu (Craig Pratt) writes:
>>From what I understand of IFF graphic images, thay are pure raster images.
>I know that IFF files support sound, and I believe that there is a 'text' type

Just to clarify, IFF stands for "Interchange File Format" and is the standard
for ALL multiprogram file formats, including sound, text, raster graphics,
vector graphics, animations, and things yet to be invented.  "ILBM" is
a kind of "FORM" which holds interlaced bitmaps. "ILBM" is one of the
things that can be in an IFF file.  IFF is like saying "directory format"
and an IFF FORM roughly corresponds to a file type.  For example, an
IFF FORM for animation may be a series of ILBM forms and a 8SVX (8-bit sound
effect) and a "(c) " (copyright) FORM.  Inside FORMs there are "chunks" like
colormap chunks, header chunks, font chunks, and so on. IFF is designed that
a paint program (say) can get the ILBM forms out of an animation without 
knowing the ANIM FORM format. A sampler could get the 8SVX form out of
the same IFF file. Hence, to say "IFF graphic images are pure raster
images" is only half-true.  Correctly, it would be "IFF ILBM only
defines raster images and there are few programs that use a different
form type for storing their data."  Actually, there was a discussion
a while back about a form type called (I think) D2DR (2-D drawing)
or something similar.  I don't know if it is a standard yet.
So the answer is "IFF supports vector graphics. You just need a program
that supports vector graphics."
				  -- Darren