SVG: Modularized and mobile (2/2) - exploring XML
SVG: Modularized and mobile
Mobile SVG Profiles: SVG Tiny and SVG Basic
Two mobile profiles of SVG 1.1 are defined using the new modularization. The first profile, SVG Tiny (SVGT), is defined to be suitable for cellphones; the second profile, SVG Basic (SVGB), is suitable for PDAs.
Mobile SVG profiles attempt to maximize compatibility with SVG 1.0 to display existing content. A true subset of the SVG 1.0 imaging model is maintained.
Overview of Mobile SVG
SVGT and SVGB consist of the following SVG 1.1 modules. For each module, a given profile might contain the Full version, the Basic version, the Tiny version, or no version of that module. For ease of use, the relevant elements in each module are given; in modules other than Full, not all attributes may be supported and there may be restrictions on attribute values.
The following table depicts the limitations of the two mobile profiles with regard to the modularization:
| Module (tags) | SVG Tiny | SVG Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | ||
| Core Attribute Module | Full | Full |
| Structure Module (svg,g,defs,desc,title,metadata,symbol,use) | Tiny | Full |
| Viewport Attribute Module | None | Full |
| Style | ||
| Style Module (style) | Full | Full |
| Painting | ||
| Paint Attribute Module | Tiny | Full |
| Opacity Attribute Module | None | Full |
| Graphics Attribute Module | Tiny | Full |
| Hyperlinking | ||
| Hyperlinking Module (a) | Full | Full |
| XLink Attribute Module | Full | Full |
| ExternalResourcesRequired Attribute Module | None | Full |
| Conditional processing | ||
| Conditional Processing Module (switch) | Full | Full |
| Shapes | ||
| Shape Module (path, rect, circle, line, ellipse, polyline, polygon) | Full | Full |
| Images | ||
| Image Module (image) | Full | Full |
| Text | ||
| Text Module (text, tspan, tref, textPath, div, span, region, p, br) | Tiny | Basic |
| Color | ||
| Color Module (solidColor, color-profile) | Tiny | Full |
| Fonts | ||
| Font Module (font, font-face, glyph, missing-glyph, hkern, vkern, font-face-src, font-face-name, definition-src) | Tiny | Full |
| Gradients | ||
| Full Gradient Module (linearGradient, radialGradient, stop) | None | Full |
| Patterns | ||
| Full Pattern Module (pattern) | None | Full |
| Clipping | ||
| Basic Clip Module (clipPath) | None | Basic |
| Masking | ||
| Full Mask Module (mask) | None | Full |
| Interactivity | ||
| Document Events Attribute Module | Full | Full |
| Graphical Element Events Attribute Module | Full | Full |
| Animation Events Attribute Module | Full | Full |
| Scripting | ||
| Scripting Module (script) | Full | Full |
| Cursors | ||
| Cursor Module (cursor) | None | Full |
| Views | ||
| View Module (view) | Full | Full |
| Filters | ||
| Filter Module (filter, feBlend, feColorMatrix, feComponentTransfer, feComposite, feFlood, feGaussianBlur, feImage, feMerge, feMergeNode, feOffset, feTile, feFuncR, feFuncG, feFuncB, feFuncA) | None | Basic |
| Animation | ||
| Animation Module (animate, set, animateMotion, animateTransform, animateColor, mpath) | Full | Full |
| Extensibility | ||
| Extensibility Module (foreignObject) | Full | Full |
For more details, see the original W3C spec.
Conclusion
With SVG going the same route as XHTML in terms of modularization and well-defined profiles, hopes are high that the two combined will become the prominent format for documents, both on the Web and off. Adobe puts significant resources behind the SVG effort in an attempt to replace Macromedia's Flash as the most prominent companion to HTML. The available SVG plug-in is available for all client platforms, and some steps have been made towards integrating SVG and PDF, as both rely on the same drawing model. Let's see whether Adobe can convince the browser manufacturers to include native SVG support in a move similar to Macromedia. Microsoft could be a challenge as they heavily invested into the competing Vector Markup Language (VML), and no clear statement regarding SVG has been made.
References
Produced by Michael Claßen
URL: https://www.webreference.com/xml/column51/2.html
Created: Mar 04, 2002
Revised: Mar 04, 2002
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