Graphics Interchange Format is the full form of GIFs, which is a standard file format used for web images and used by software programs. The full gif form will help you understand how it uses compression techniques that don't reduce image quality. GIF stores data using indexed colors and has a total of 256 options.
GIFs are great for web pages and banners and find their best use on smartphones. Developers mostly prefer the PNG format because it supports various color options. The animated GIF continues to maintain its popularity on the web.
History of GIFs
Steve Wilhite began working on the Graphics Interchange Format (the full meaning of the acronym gif) in 1986. He was a programmer for the Compuserve, an online chat service. Compuserve needed a graphics format that would work on all computers. Another reason was that it required a sharper image
to run on slower connections. Wilhite completed the first version of GIF in May 1987, and was commercially released a few months later.
Versions of GIF
GIF has only two versions:
- The first version was introduced in 1987 as GIF87a.
- The second version was expanded and created in 1989. It was called GIF89a and is still used as the standard format today.
Usage
- GIFs are suitable for line graphics with sharp edges (eg a logo) with a limited number of colors.
- It uses the LZW technique for data compression, so you don't have to worry about data loss, and it prefers flat areas of uniform color with well-defined edges.
- It can be used in small animations and low resolution movie clips.
- It can be used in games.
- It supports transparent backgrounds, so it can be used to blend GIFs with website background colors.