Image Formats

There are two basic methods for a computer to render or to store and display an image. When an image is saved in a specific format, it is created in either a raster or vector graphic format.

The Internet users are mostly familiar with raster images. A raster format breaks an image into pixels.

There are actually only two basic methods for a computer to render or to store and display an image. When an image is saved in a specific format, the image is created in either a raster or vector graphic format. The bits are used to create each pixel. The pixels denote the depth of color that can be put into the images. If the pixels are denoted with only one bit per pixel, then that pixel will be black or white. If the pixels are denoted with four bits-per-pixel, it means that a pixel can be set to 1 of 16 colors. Raster image formats can save at 16, 24, and 32 bits-per-pixel.

There are two common Internet image types in the raster format:
GIF
JPEG
Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) is the most common file format for images used on Web pages. The GIF format works well with line drawings, images with blocks of solid color, and pictures with sharp boundaries between colors. The GIF format has two versions, GIF89a and GIF87a. GIF89a allows users to save an animated GIF that is essentially a short sequence of images within a single GIF file, and supports transparency. GIF87a does not support animation and transparency. GIF stores 8 bits per pixel and is capable of displaying 256 colors.

Animated GIF files can be placed in an HTML page by using the tag. Nearly all Web browsers support animated GIF files. These files are smaller than other animation files, such as Java applets.

Jpeg is a compression algorithm developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group. Jpeg's main feature is its compression factor that stores the image on the hard drive in less space than the image is when it actually displays. Although Jpeg reduces the file size of its normal size, some details are lost in the compression. Jpeg images support 16 million colors and are best suited for photographs and complex graphics such as trees, mountains, etc.

These are some of the other image types in the raster format:
TIFF
PCX
RLE (Run-Length Encoding)
Vector graphics formats offer advantages over traditional raster graphic formats such as GIF, JPEG, etc. Vector graphics files are much smaller in terms of the number of bytes they contain than bitmap files of the same objects with similar details. This makes Web pages load faster. Another asset of vector graphics is the fact that they can be easily scaled without loss of image resolution.

Vector graphics rendering is best suited to images in which shapes can be defined by mathematical functions. For example, straight lines, simple curves, waves, circles, ellipses, squares, rectangles, and triangles. In some situations, vector graphics are inferior to bitmap graphics. An example is a photograph of a complex nature scene including trees, clouds, and other objects with fractal features. While it is possible to render such images in vector format, the vector file may contain several times as many bytes as the equivalent bitmap file.

These are some of the image types in vector graphics format:
HDW (Harvard Draw)
GEM (Ventura Publisher)

About the Author Established in 1996, uCertify specializes in the development of computer assisted test preparation software. The company provides exam simulation PrepKits for the certification exams of Microsoft, CIW, CompTIA, Oracle, Sun and other leading vendors.

Related Information of Interest:

Cat Lover's Gift Basket
Speaking as a quintessential cat lover, receiving a "Cat Lover's Gift Basket" is second only to receiving an actual cat!

Next time you're shopping for someone who is as wild about cats as you and I are, consider the following suggestions. You'll all be happy, including the feline of the group.

First of all, decide upon your "Basket". It can either be a medium-sized wicker basket (cats love to nestle inside of them) or it could be a fairly deep cat bed. Inside, on the bottom, lay out sheets of colorful tissue paper, or even a pretty baby blanket.

Following are some ideas for treats to fill the basket or bed. Customize the list appropiately for the lucky person who is receiving the present.

-A CD of light jazz that he/she and their feline friend will enjoy listening to together. Cats love jazz. They have such exquisite taste.

-A great looking set of water and food dishes.

-A coffee mug with a cat on it.

-A Garfield book of comic strips and/or a Garfield calendar.

-Cat Nip-filled toys or balls.

-A ball of yarn. Stereotypical, sure....but oh so much fun!

-The Video Version of the musical "Cats".

The possibilities are as endless as your imagination and your desire to bring a smile to this person's face.

Visit: Cat Pause.com

About the Author

Cat Pause.com is a perfect site for cat lovers! It features tons of articles, product reviews, information, tips, and lots more. E-mail the author at joi@cat-pause.com

Drive traffic to your website by posting free articles

With well over a billion web pages worldwide, there is only one sure way to get a web surfer's attention. It's not banner ads, popup windows or any number of gee-whiz marketing gizmos. It's content--pure, solid, usable information that will make visitors come to you again and again. The Internet is driven by information, and the fact is, people are more concerned with information than they are with how fancy your site is. That's what makes article submission the number 1 way to drive targeted traffic your site.

There are hundreds of "free article submission" sites that will gladly accept your articles written to provide readers with useful information (Here is a list of hundreds of article sites and mail lists: Article Post Robot, Post Your Articles Automatically! ). As long as these articles are not thinly disguised sales letters, but provide solid content, these sites will accept them for publication, copyright free. In turn, they will then make those articles available for reading--and for publication--for anyone else browsing their article archives. Ezine publishers hungering for good, quality information to provide to their subscribers will include some of these articles in their own publications. Soon, your articles are making their way across the Internet. And at the end of each article (and as a stipulation for free publication), is your resource box, a brief description of you--and a link back to your web site! Soon, you are getting targeted traffic from visitors who have read your article, found information about you in the resource box, and clicked on your web site link provided there. It doesn't take long for the famed "viral effect" of marketing to take place, and you've got traffic coming from all over!

David is the leader of a software development team, whose developed www.ArticlePostRobot.com, the software which can post articles to hundreds of article sites and mail lists automatically.

Meet Kate Bosworth: Superman Returns
There are few more iconic characters in American movie history as Lois Lane, Clark Kent’s sidekick at the Daily Planet, and Superman’s romantic interest. But 23 year old Kate Bosworth’s performance has earned her a number of excellent reviews in the role in the latest film in the Superman series – ‘Superman Returns’.

Bosworth admits that she was unsure if any actor could pull of a convincing Superman/Clark Kent combination – she remembers the original film with great excitement. However, she is full of praise for Brandon Routh, the unknown actor who plays the title role. She realized how good Routh was going to be as early as an early screen test, before she had got the role, when she discovered she “had become totally lost in just reading with him, in a white, bare, sparse room with the tri-pod video camera and a couple of people sitting around and watching and that's when I realized he was going to be tremendous in this film”.

Bosworth modelled her Lois Lane performance on Katharine Hepburn. "I watched a lot of Hepburn to prepare for Lois, particularly ‘The Philadelphia Story’ and ‘Guess Who's Coming to Dinner’. Hepburn is a great model for how I see Lois - strong but fragile."

Bosworth spent her early childhood moving around the US, from Los Angeles to San Francisco, then to Connecticut and to Massachusetts. It was around the time of the move to Massachusetts in 1998 that she heard of an open audition for Robert Redford’s film ‘The Horse Whisperer’. A horse-lover, she went along for the experience, and won the role of the female lead's best friend. After “The Horse Whisperer” Bosworth took a break from acting, returning two years later to resume her career which has culminated with her role in ‘Superman Returns’.

Filmography

Superman Returns (2006)
Bee Season (2005)
Beyond the Sea (2004)
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004)
Advantage Hart (2003)
Wonderland (2003)
The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Blue Crush (2002)
Remember the Titans (2000)
Young Americans (2000) TV Episode
The Newcomers (2000)
The Horse Whisperer (1998)

Niall is a huge fan of the original Superman film, and is looking forward to the release of Superman Returns. For news and information about the new film visit his site at www.SupermanReturnsNews.com. All rights reserved. Copyright www.SupermanReturnsNews.com.

The Classic Look Of A Black And White Photo
How stacked is your photo album? Are you keeping it updated as the years go by? Remember, you won't ever get them back. It's probably time to start preserving those special times. When I flip open an old photo album and glance through the variety of black and white photos from my parents' childhood, I am simply amazed.

For some reason it's hard to remember our parents were children once too. We only know them as the adults they have become. I want my children to be able to do the same thing with me one day. So far my wife and I have accumulated around a dozen photo albums. We have two or three of them made up of black and white photos.

Some people actually prefer black and white photos since they tend to hide imperfections a little better. However, now days the digital cameras are so widespread and simple. So many photos are taken and downloaded to our laptops. This is much less expensive if you don't print them out.

Do you take a lot of pictures? Well, if the answer is no, then you should start. Pictures are the keys to great memories. I noticed that I did not start taking oodles of photos until I had my first child. Suddenly, I wanted to preserve every single pose. Some of my favorites are black and white photos.

These old-school pictures have a certain presence all their own. It's almost like they show a deeper emotion. There's something to be said about the lack of color. It allows us to see beyond the mere cosmetic factor. This is why my wife and I love to shoot plenty of black and white photos of our children and family.

In this modern world of color, it's rather hard to come by classic black and white photos anymore. If you've not dabbled in this area of photography, I suggest that you at least give it a shot.

Get some great black and white photos of your family and loved ones. If you would like a preview of some extraordinary black and white photos, you can always surf the web and find a spectrum to choose from.

The quality is not lost in black and white photos, it's merely the color. After dealing with both sides of the coin, I don't think I will ever prefer color pictures over black and white photos.

Get some great black and white photos of your family and loved ones black and white photos of your family and loved ones.