Graphics Interchange Format

Summary

Name

Graphics Interchange Format

Version

87a

Identifiers

• Apple Uniform Type Identifier: com.compuserve.gif
• PUID: fmt/3
• MIME: image/gif

Format type

Image (Raster)

Disclosure

Full

Description

The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a raster image format developed by Compuserve, primarily for use on the internet. A GIF file begins with a Header section and a Logical Screen Descriptor section. This is followed by one or more Image sections, and the file is terminated by a Trailer. GIF supports bit depths between 1 and 8 bits (i.e. up to 256 colours) and supports features such as interlacing and transparency. Images are always stored using lossless LZW compression.

Release date

15 Jun 1987

Format encoding

Binary

File extensions

gif

Submitted by

Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives

Developed by

Compuserve Incorporated

Relationships

Is previous version of

• Graphics Interchange Format 89a

Internal signatures

Changelog

• V84

  Release date

  21 January 2016

  • Updated

    Graphics Interchange Format 87a: Added small max EOF offset to account for rare edge cases where null bytes appear after EOF marker.

• V81

  Release date

  18 February 2015

  • Updated

    Graphics Interchange Format 87a: Description amended.