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From: bryce@COGSCI.BERKELEY.EDU (Bryce Nesbitt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Re: IFF (really IFF vs. GIF)
Message-ID: <8707162228.AA22174@cogsci.berkeley.edu>
Date: Thu, 16-Jul-87 18:28:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: cogsci.8707162228.AA22174
Posted: Thu Jul 16 18:28:10 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jul-87 09:01:29 EDT
Sender: molbio@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 45
Keywords: apple IBM compuserve bozos

In article <794@> barry@aurora.UUCP (Kenn Barry) writes:
>In article <954@>, richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes:
>>
>>I just notived in todays Computer Graphics Today that compuserve Inc has
>>defined an interchangable graphics format (GIF) to allow [computers like
>>the Mac, IBM, Amiga, ST etc.] to exchange pictures.
>>Is there some reason they did'nt use IFF ?
>	I noticed in the docfile for it that it supports huge
>resolutions, too - over 16K X 16K, I presume for the purpose of encoding
>pics intended for a laser printer. Does IFF support this? I know, don't
>answer, I should read the manual.

Absolutly.  IFF files have *LOTS* of elbow-room.  A 65535*65535 picture
would fit real comfortably in a IFF "ILBM" form, though most IFF readers
would probably either choke on this, or clip it down to reasonable size.

Compuserve *COULD* have used an IFF file for GIF without giving up anything.
If the compression of "ILBM" was not enough, they could have even designed
a new one.  (Existing readers would need to be upgraded, but that's a lot
less work than conforming to a totally NEW standard)

IFF is a quite an asset for the Amiga to have had from the start.  As its
planners intended, IFF is also starting to creep to other computers like the
Apple Macintosh.

To clear up a point:
"IFF" is much more than a graphics interchange format.  It is a standard for
creating all sorts of interchangeable files (The acronym stands for 
"Interchangeable File Format").  It was defined by Commodore-Amiga and
Electronics Arts.
One of the standard types of IFF files that has been defined can contain a
picture (The "ILBM" mentioned above).  Other IFF definitions exist for
sampled sound ("SVX8"), simple musical score ("SMUS"), etc...
Developers are encouraged to save their application's data in IFF files, and
then publish the format.  Applications from different manufactures can then
easily swap information back and forth.  "SPRD" could be a standard for
spreadsheets, etc...
"Secret" IFF types are also possible.   Existing IFF "forms" can be expanded
at any time, often without affecting forward OR backward compatibility.

-----------------------------
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{o O} . 
( " )	bryce@cogsci.berkeley.EDU -or- ucbvax!cogsci!bryce
  U	"Success leads to stagnation; stagnation leads to failure."