GIF

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a bitmap image format for pictures that use 256 (or fewer) distinct colors (though there is a workaround for this limitation). and animations that use 256 (or fewer) distinct colors per frame. GIFs are compressed files, and are employed specifically to reduce the amount of time it takes to transfer images over a network connection. The format was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web.

External links

• GIF89a specification
• List of GIF resources
• Links related to the gif patent issue
• Burn All GIFs - a site providing information about the ramifications of the LZW patent, advocating the abandonment of the format
• Why There Are No GIF files on GNU Web Pages
• The GIF Controversy: A Software Developer's Perspective (by Michael C. Battilana)
• The GIF situation (by the League of Programming Freedom)