Homework 2

1. Web acceptable images are images that have gone through a specific process to ensure that they view correctly on the web. These images must be saved as one of the following images types: GIF, JPEG, PNG, or BMP. These images should also be in the RGB color format.

2. The acronyms are as follows: GIF Graphics Interchange Format, JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group, PNG Portable Network Graphics, BMP Bitmap

3. GIF is the smallest image size, but it is limited to 8-bit color which is only 256 colors. However, GIFs can be animated. GIFs can also be interlaced to allow progressive loading on a web page.

JPEG is the best for photographic elements that involve many colors. JPEG is a 16-bit color format and can be compressed to lower image size without losing too much quality. JPEGs can be interlaced as well but cannot be animated.

PNG has two types. The first is PNG-8 which is 8-bit color similar to a GIF, the second is PNG-24 which is 24-bit color that resembles a JPEG. PNG runs on alpha channels which control the transparency of each pixel. This allows the use of transparent features on a web page. The major drawback is there have been compatibility issues with browsers and the PNG format.

BMP is a bitmap that can be 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, or 32 bit color. Uncompressed BMP files are usually very large, meaning use on the web is difficult for design.

4. GIF is very useful for animation or simple color graphics. JPEG is the format that should be used for photographs or high color elements. While the PNG format is best utilized for transparency on the web.