SVG waiting in the wings

Warning This article was written over six months ago, and may contain outdated information.

One technology that’s ready to take the step up onto the big stage is SVG. If you’re not sure what that is, its Wikipedia entry provides a good summary:

SVG is an XML markup language for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and animated.

That’s a pretty big deal; static or animated images which are marked up with XML, meaning you can use the DOM to manipulate them. Interactive images; imagine the possibilities!

It can be called in many ways; as an <object>, as an <img>, as a background-image. Being a vector format, it can also be resized without loss of quality, so is perfect for High DPI websites.

In short, it’s the format of the future – and it’s pretty close to making the big time.

Firefox and Opera support it natively as an <object>, and the latter have announced that they have it implemented as a background-image in development builds. Internet Explorer and Safari support it as an <object> with the aid of a plugin, which is pre-installed in Safari’s case. They have stated that SVG will be given much more prominence in the next release – largely, I suspect, because of the Adobe Apollo deal. Konqueror users can also view SVG with this plugin.

What’s needed to really give it the spotlight it deserves is the same thing that many other emerging technologies need: native support in IE. As the market-leading browser with largest market share, it’s frustrating that it’s by far the most conservative.

2 comments on
“SVG waiting in the wings”

  1. Can browsers render SVG sufficiently fast enough for web use? When I am drawing in Inkscape, complex drawings can get pretty slow.

  2. At the moment Inkscape uses an internal rendering engine, but they’re moving to Cairo instead for future releases, and apparently some routines have been reported as running 25% faster.

    http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=07/02/23/1639217