Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) is a file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and text, and is defined by ISO/IEC 8632. All graphical elements can be specified in a textual source file that can be compiled into a binary or one of two text representations. CGM provides a means of graphics data interchange for computer representation of 2D graphical information independent from any particular application, system, platform, or device.

As a metafile, i.e. a file containing information that describes or specifies another file, the CGM format has numerous elements to provide functions and to represent entities, so that a wide range of graphical information and geometric primitives can be accommodated. Rather than establish an explicit graphics file format, CGM contains the instructions and data for reconstructing graphical components to render an image using an object-oriented approach.

Although CGM is not widely supported for web pages and has been supplanted by other formats in the graphic arts, it is still prevalent in engineering, aviation, and other technical applications.

More on [ Computer Graphics Metafile ]

NPR Topics: Technology

Particle Accelerator Helps Test Wine
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:53:00 -0400
Stephen Williams of the Antique Wine Company describes the new high-tech way to determine a wine's vintage.
Voting Technology Evolves In Electronic World
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0400
Officials in many states are concerned about the reliability of electronic voting and are now moving toward systems that can provide a voter-verified paper trail. Larry Norden, author of The Machinery of Democracy, discusses the latest advances in voting technology.
Google Launches 'Chrome' Web Browser
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0400
Internet search giant Google unveiled Chrome, a new piece of Web browser software on Tuesday. Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of SearchEngineLand.com, explains what Google's open-source browser can do, and why a search engine leader wants to get into the Web software market.

L.A. Times - Technology News

Katie Couric tests the waters with live webcasts
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
'CBS Evening News' anchor checks out the medium's possibilities by going live with more-casual, even cheeky, coverage of the Democratic and Republican national conventions. NEW YORK -- Katie Couric was listening to Declan McCullagh, CNET's chief political correspondent, explain Barack Obama's and John McCain's stances on Net neutrality.
Electronic Arts spawns Spore -- which may be a benevolent god
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The unconventional video game could usher in a new golden age for the once undisputed industry giant, which has slipped in recent years. Spore lets people play god, tinker with a digital primordial soup and birth civilizations that conquer galaxies.
Tropical storm may delay nation's first test of digital TV conversion
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Wilmington, N.C., which is scheduled to make the switch Monday, is in Hanna's path. Rumbling toward the Carolina coast, Tropical Storm Hanna may force the delay of the nation's first test of the digital television conversion.

Subscribe to Data_Formats RSS feed