Graphics Interchange Format

Summary

Name

Graphics Interchange Format

Version

89a

Identifiers

• Apple Uniform Type Identifier: com.compuserve.gif
• PUID: fmt/4
• 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. GIF 89a introduced a number of new features, including a series of optional Control Extensions, which can be used to control the rendering of images within a file.

Release date

31 Jul 1990

Format encoding

Binary

File extensions

gif

Submitted by

Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives

Developed by

Compuserve Incorporated

Relationships

Is subsequent version of

• Graphics Interchange Format 87a

Internal signatures

Changelog

• V84

  Release date

  21 January 2016

  • Updated

    Graphics Interchange Format 89a: 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 89a: Description amended.