So we were discussing whether the PNG (pronounced “ping”) graphics format included vectors. I thought it did since Fireworks lets you draw vectors and uses PNG as its native format. Turns out I was wrong. Fireworks extends the PGN format to include chunks for features others than bitmaps. See PNG feature support in Fireworks.
On a related note – PNG (Portable Network Graphics) was developed as a networked graphics format that was unemcumbered by patents the way GIF was until GIF Liberation Day (June 2002) when the patents expired. Now JPG is having problems as Forgent sues over JPG patent.
Here is a quote from PNG feature support in Fireworks:
In addition to supporting PNG as an output format, Fireworks actually uses PNG as its native file format for day-to-day intermediate saves. This is possible thanks to PNG’s extensible “chunk-based” design, which allows programs to incorporate application-specific data in a well-defined way. Macromedia has embraced this capability, defining at least four custom chunk types that hold various things pertinent to the editor. Unfortunately, one of them (pRVW) violates the PNG naming rules by claiming to be an officially registered, public chunk type, but this was an oversight and should be fixed in version 2.0.
Other links about PNG: Introduction to PNG, To PNG or not to PNG, and ZNet: Gif and PNG
Comments are closed.