SVG - The Future
is Now
Home > Build
> Graphics
by Don
Herion
(1)
(2)
Here is another example created in Adobe Illustrator 9.0:
<?xml
version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> <!-- Generator: Adobe
Illustrator
9.0,
SVG Export Plug-In --> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD
SVG 20000303
Stylable//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/03/WD-SVG-20000303/DTD/svg-
20000303-stylable.dtd"
[
<!ENTITY st0 "fill:url(#aigrd1);stroke:none;">
<!ENTITY st1 "fill:none;stroke:none;">
<!ENTITY st2 "font-family:'Helvetica';">
<!ENTITY st3 "font-size:48;">
<!ENTITY st4 "fill-rule:nonzero;clip-rule:nonzero;stroke:#0
00000;stroke-miterlimit:4;">
<!ENTITY st5 "stroke:none;">
]> <svg width="249.165pt" height="249.164pt" viewBox="0 0 2
49.165 249.164"
xml:space="preserve"> <
As
you can see the image is only slightly more complex than the first but there is
a lot more code. The .SVG size for this image is only 3kb. The .jpeg version is
3.5kb. The same image saved as .gif is about 5kb. Not a lot of difference but
you still have all the other pluses that come with .SVG; superior image quality,
the ability to pan and zoom at will, high quality printing, and they smoothly
integrate into XML.
Adobe Leading the Way
Currently
only a few companies have products capable of supporting .SVG. Adobe's product
line of GoLive 5.0, Illustrator 9.0, LiveMotion 1.0 and Photoshop 6.0 all support
.SVG giving them an edge over their chief rival Macromedia. Beatware's e-Picture
Pro also exports .SVG. Other companies are scrambling to support this powerful
new formatting technology.
Browser Support
For
the present you will require a plug-in to view .SVG content within your existing
browser. Future releases of Internet Explorer and Netscape promise to fully support
.SVG. To find a complete list of plug ins, editors and conversion tools go to
W3C.
You can also find out the latest buzz on .SVG and .XML there. If you wish to see
more samples of this emerging technology the Adobe
Web site has a number of cool demos. The first official site to implement
.SVG is Battlebots. Check
them out.