• SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics.




• It defines graphics in XML format.


Note:
• SVG files are always saved with an .svg extension

Shape Tags: <line>, <rect>, <circle>, <ellipse>, <polyline>, <polygon>, <path>

Paint Tags: <linearGradient>, <radialGradient>, <pattern>, <mask>

Text Tags: <text>, <tspan>, <textPath>, <font>, <font-face>, <glyph>

Filter Tags: <filter>, <feBlend>, <feFlood>, <feColorMatrix>, <feGaussianBlur>, <feMorphology><feSpotLight>

Animation Tags: <animate>, <animateMotion>, <animateTransform>, <animateColor>, <set>

Misc Tags: <image>, <symbol>, <g>, <defs>, <use>

And Etc.

SVG 1.1 became W3C Recommendation in January 2003.

Sun Microsystems, Adobe, Apple, IBM, and Kodak are the organizations that have been involved in defining SVG.

Advantages of using SVG over other image formats (like JPEG and GIF) are as follows:

• SVG files can be read and modified by a large range of tools like notepad

• SVG files are smaller and more compressible than JPEG and GIF image

• SVG images are always scalable

• SVG images can be printed in high quality at any resolution

• SVG images are also zoomable. Any part of the image can be zoomed without having degradation

• Text in SVG is selectable and searchable (excellent for making map)

• Now SVG works with Java technology

• SVG is an open source standard

• SVG files are pure XML files

The main competitor to SVG is Flash only.

The biggest advantage SVG has over Flash is the compliance with other standards like XSL and the DOM. Flash relies on proprietary technology that is not open source standard.

A drawback of SVG is that not all browsers support it. Mozilla browsers, Firefox, and Opera support SVG, and Microsoft plan to support SVG.

The number of SVG editors are growing, and Adobe GoLive 5 supports SVG also.

Look at a directory of SVG enabled softwares and services

To view SVG files , you may have to install a plug-in such as the Adobe SVG Viewer.

If your browser does not support SVG files, you will have to download an SVG viewer to view SVG files.

Note: Firefox 1.5 and Opera 9 have native SVG support. If you are using one of these browsers, you do not need to install SVG viewer.

Download SVG Viewer for FREE from Adobe.

Before you continue you should have some basic understanding of the following language:

• HTML
• XML

If you want to study this subject first, find the tutorials on our Home page.