I wish IE (and others) would support Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). I really do. And here’s why – it’s just so damn cool. Ever since I saw an SVG image for the first time, and later found Inkscape (an SVG vector drawing program), I just don’t get why SVG hasn’t been eagerly taken up. What could be cooler than an image that has all the benefits of vector graphics, is represented in xml, yet can be treated just like an image?
What does this have to do with Enterprise 2.0? Not a whole lot. If SVG was widespread, it would mean we’d see the end of horribly distorted or pixellated images. We wouldn’t have to deal with patent issues or image compression or codec issues – it’s just text! Any old compression format will do fine. An interesting result of this is that SVG is very well suited to mobile devices.
I’m not sure of how easy it is to edit SVG files, but since it describes vector images and is just modifying text, at least you know you won’t lose data as you manipulate it, whereas dealing with bitmap images can often mean loss of information. Not to mention that all it takes to animate SVG images is JavaScript or SMIL. It can do some really neat things, all in a browser. Without any plugins (for the modern browsers, anyway).
SVG seems to be gaining some traction, and it’s about time.
