News Release: World Wide Web Consortium Issues Scalable Vector Graphics as a Candidate Recommendation

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From: Janet Daly (janet@w3.org)
Date: Wed Aug 02 2000 - 07:17:39 PDT


World Wide Web Consortium Issues Scalable Vector Graphics as a Candidate
Recommendation

Implementation testing the key to Interoperability

Contact America --
     Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe --
     Carine Rigaud <cariner@fgcom.fr>, +33.1.41.18.85.55
     Christelle Moraga <christellem@fgcom.fr>, +33.1.41.18.85.55
Contact Asia --
     Kazuhiro Kitagawa <kaz@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

Web resources:

Press release:
        http://www.w3.org/2000/08/svg-pressrelease.html

Press release in Japanese:
        http://www.w3.org/2000/08/svg-pressrelease.html.ja

Testimonials:
        http://www.w3.org/2000/08/svg-testimonial.html

Scalable Vector Graphics Candidate Recommendation:
        http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/CR-SVG-20000802/

http://www.w3.org/ -- 2 August 2000 -- The World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) has issued Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) as a W3C Candidate
Recommendation. Advancement of the document to Candidate Recommendation
is an invitation to the Web development community at large to make
implementations of SVG and provide technical feedback.

Web Designers Need Scalable Vector Graphics

Web designers have requirements for graphics formats which display
well on a range of different devices, screen sizes, and printer
resolutions. They need rich graphical capabilities, good
internationalization, responsive animation and interactive behavior
in a way that takes advantage of the growing XML infrastructure
used in e-commerce, publishing, and business to business communication.

"Designers are reaching larger audiences with an increasing variety
of Web-enabled devices. They need graphics which can be restyled for
different purposes," explained Chris Lilley, W3C Graphics Activity Lead.
"But most of all, they need to be able to handle their graphics the
same way as their text and business data, which nowadays are in XML.
SVG is specifically designed to let them do that."

XML Brings Searchability, Dynamism, and Extensibility

Web designers demand vendor-neutral, cross-platform interoperability.
W3C's Extensible Markup Language (XML) has become the universal format
for document and data interchange on the Web. SVG brings the advantages
of XML to the world of vector graphics. It enables the textual content
of graphics - from logos to diagrams - to be searched, indexed, and
displayed in multiple languages. This is a significant benefit for both
accessibility and internationalization.

Related W3C specifications such as the Document Object Model (DOM)
allow for easy server-side generation and dynamic, client-side
modification of graphics and text. SVG also benefits from W3C
technologies such as CSS and XSL style sheets, RDF metadata,
SMIL Animation and XML Linking.

In addition to being an excellent format for stand-alone graphics,
the full power of SVG is seen when it is combined with other XML
grammars; for example to deliver multimedia applications,
hold business data, or render mathematical expressions.

Bringing the XML advantage to vector graphics benefits all industries
which depend on rich graphics delivery - advertising, electronic
commerce, process control, mapping, financial services, and education
all have immediate needs for SVG.

W3C Ensures Stability of Developing Technologies, Builds Test Suites

Candidate Recommendation state is an explicit call for implementations
to the developer community at large, to use a maturing specification
and build applications based on it. There are already many open source
and commercial SVG implementations available. W3C is ensuring that
the whole of the SVG specification can be implemented, thus ensuring
cross-vendor, cross-platform interoperability.

W3C is extending its first SVG Test Suite, and updating it to match
the Candidate Recommendation of SVG. "We are providing developers with
the critical tools they need to check their implementations against
the spec," explained Lofton Henderson, editor of the SVG Test Suite.
"Test Suites enable developers to make conformant and interoperable
applications, which can then be used with confidence by designers."

SVG Enjoys Industry Support, Implementations Available Now

The SVG Working Group consists of key industry and research players
including, in alphabetical order: Adobe Systems, AOL/Netscape, Apple,
Autodesk, Canon, Corel, CSIRO, Eastman Kodak, Excosoft, Hewlett-Packard,
IBM, ILOG, IntraNet Systems, Macromedia, Microsoft, OASIS, Opera,
Oxford Brookes University, Quark, Sun Microsystems, and Xerox.

Increasing numbers of drawing tools export to SVG, and SVG can now be
viewed on many platforms. Forward-looking designers, who already
understand the benefits of vector graphics, are now gaining experience
with SVG and XML integration.

SVG will remain in Candidate Recommendation while the working
group evaluates implementations for support of each SVG feature,
and integrates public feedback.

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by
developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure
its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium
jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS)
in the USA, the National Institute for Research in Computer Science
and Control (INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan.
Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of
information about the World Wide Web for developers and users,
reference code implementations to embody and promote standards,
and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use
of new technology. To date, over 440 organizations are Members of
the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

Testimonials for Scalable Vector Graphics Candidate Recommendation

Adobe Systems | Apple | BitFlash Inc. | Canon | Corel Corporation
CSIRO | Eastman Kodak Company | IBM | ILOG | IntraNet Solutions
Jasc Software Incorporated | Lexica LLC | Macromedia | OASIS
Oxford Brookes University | Sun Microsystems |

        Adobe is extremely pleased that the SVG specification
        has been approved as a W3C Candidate Recommendation -
        bringing it an important step closer to Final
        Recommendation. Because it's built on open standards like
        XML, SVG will enable designers and programmers to more easily
        build extensible, dynamic and interactive Web sites. Adobe
        is committed to helping facilitate SVG's broad adoption.
        To that end, we will continue to freely distribute the
        Adobe SVG Viewer and integrate SVG capabilities across our
        product line - a process that's already begun with the
        addition of SVG authoring capability to Illustrator 9.0.
          -- Ron Okamoto
             Senior Director of Product Marketing
             Graphics and Dynamic Media
             Adobe Systems Incorporated

        Apple is committed to building the best products for
        the creative market, and was a key contributor in developing
        SVG, the new standard for authoring next generation graphics
        on the web. SVG's support for transparency, ICC profiles and
        ColorSync will be a natural fit with Quartz, our killer
        graphics technology in Mac OS X.
          -- Philip Schiller
             Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing

        BitFlash Inc. is proud to be an active member of the W3C
        SVG Working Group. SVG is an integral part of BitFlash's
        Wireless Graphics Server, powered by the company's ReflexisTM
        Graphics Engine. We are confident that SVG will have a
        significant market impact, enabling BitFlash to achieve its
        goal of bringing rich, desktop-level content to wireless
        devices and all Internet platforms.
          -- Frederic Charpentier
             President & Chief Technology Officer
             BitFlash Inc.

        The Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) standards proposal from
        the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) holds the key to unifying
        the imaging model and semantic structure for printing and
        Internet display. Canon welcomes SVG becoming Candidate
        Recommendation and expects it to play an important role as a
        document format used in the circulation of documents in the
        Internet era.
          -- Satoshi Nagata
             Senior General Manager
             Digital Office Development Center
             Canon Inc.

          Corel applauds the work of the World Wide Web Consortium
          on completing the Scalable Vector Graphics specifications.
          In the 21st century, the computing world will depend on
          tools that are based upon open standards, are easy to use
          and work across multiple platforms. We are committed to
          embracing SVG throughout our graphics applications,
          including the upcoming CorelDRAW 10 Graphics Suite, and
          leveraging this emerging technology for Web graphics.
          -- Derek J. Burney
             Executive Vice-President
             Engineering and Chief Technology Officer
             Corel Corporation

         CSIRO is pleased to have played an important role in the
         development of Scalable Vector Graphics. SVG opens up new
         possibilities for delivering map-based information over the
         Internet. Our experience in geo-spatial applications has
         allowed us to use this newly emerging standard to provide
         innovative solutions for Web Mapping. In fact, we're already
         using the SVG standard to deliver integrated property and
         planning information for local government authorities
         over the Internet.
          -- David Abel
             Science and Industry Manager
             CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences, Australia

        We are very pleased to see that the first release of the
        SVG specification has reached this significant milestone of
        Candidate Recommendation. Using SVG, IBM's customers will be
        able to bring higher-quality graphics to their Web pages,
        their e-business applications, and the ever-increasing number
        of Web-enabled mobile devices. The SVG Candidate Recommendation
        is an important step toward establishing a true vector graphics
        encoding standard, which IBM supports as a necessity for
        cross-industry interoperability.
          -- Rod Smith
             Vice President of Emerging Technologies
             IBM

        ILOG has been involved in definition of SVG since the beginning,
        and in fact, has one of the first products to support the
        standard, ILOG JViews 3.0 graphical user interface. With our
        customers moving applications to the web, SVG will allow for
        easy interoperability among many different graphics programs.
        We see this flexibility and interactivity as an extension of
        our product strengths in those areas, features that have made
        ILOG GUIs successful in telecom network management, supervision
        and workflow applications.
          -- Patrick Albert, Chief Technology Officer, ILOG

        As a leader in Web content management solutions and
        information access technologies, IntraNet Solutions
        enthusiastically embraces the SVG Candidate Recommendation.
        Through SVG, our Web content management customers will be able
        to display diagrams and schematics from a single source document
        on diverse devices at various resolutions without any degradation
        of quality. For application developers using our XML-based
        technologies to access information locked in business documents,
        the conversion of business graphics to SVG gives them a single
        industry-standard interface for searching, manipulating and
        publishing a wide variety of vector formats. As a robust,
        integrated standard, SVG provides the industry with a powerful
        tool for breaking down barriers to information access.
          -- Scott D. Norder,
             President, Information Exchange Division
             IntraNet Solutions, Inc

        Scalable Vector Graphics will play an important role in
        transforming the Web into a truly interactive and visually
        appealing environment. Jasc Software is pleased to support the
        World Wide Web Consortium's efforts in creating a vector
        graphics standard that will be open to all vendors and end-users.
        Through the use of new and innovative programs such as Jasc
        Trajectory Pro, Web designers of all levels will be able to
        fully experience the many benefits and accessibility of SVG.
          -- Kris Tufto, CEO
             Jasc Software Incorporated

        Kodak welcomes the advancement of SVG as an important element
        to enabling both graphical and image-intensive creative
        web-based applications. Such applications are fundamental to
        delivering new products and services through our Print@Kodak
        Internet photofinishing service. SVG will speed the development
        and expand the use of KODAK applications.
          -- Stephen Shaffer, CTO, Internet Fulfillment
             Eastman Kodak Company

        Lexica LLC is a member of the W3C's working group on vector
        graphics, SVG, and is excited about the potential for advanced
        graphical and textual content on the web. The Java 2 platform's
        2D API, containing a set of graphics, text and imaging features,
        maps well to the SVG specification. Lexica is very pleased to
        incorporate SVG into its other Java-based and XML software,
        which addresses the insurance vertical market. The ability to
        natively incorporate two kinds of metadata directly into SVG
        structures permits knowledge-amplified graphical and textual
        processing on the Web.
          -- David Dodds, Senior XML Analyst and SVG working group
             member, Lexica LLC

        Macromedia is pleased that the SVG specification has reached
        Candidate Recommendation. Through the tremendous adoption of
        Macromedia Flash, we have seen vector graphics become an
        increasingly important component of the web experience, and
        SVG will introduce a rich interchange format that can be
        implemented across tools and technologies.
          -- Peter Santangeli, Macromedia

        Netscape is pleased to see SVG has progressed to Candidate
        Recommendation. We believe the web user's experience will be
        greatly enhanced by a vector graphics standard designed
        specifically for the Web. Many of the raster images on the Web
        could be replaced with vector graphics that offer compact
        downloads, device independent resolution, and retention of
        textual data for searching and indexing. Netscape is working
        to enable ubiquitous SVG support in browsers and applications
        through our open-source development initiative.
          -- Jim Hamerly, Vice President of Client Product Development
             Netscape Communications Corporation

        OASIS is proud to have contributed to the development of SVG.
        We believe it will be an important addition to the family of
        XML standards--one that will benefit all OASIS members, users
        and vendors alike. As an organization dedicated to XML
        interoperability, OASIS looks forward to opportunities to
        continue our work with SVG, much as we did with WebCGM after
        it became a W3C Recommendation.
          -- Laura Walker, Executive Director, OASIS

        We are delighted to see SVG progress to Candidate Recommendation.
        This is an important step along the road to making the Web more
        "graphics friendly".
          -- David Duce, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences
             Oxford Brookes University

        Sun is a strong proponent of SVG. SVG is a powerful enabling
        technology for the Web and especially promising when combined
        with the Java (TM) 2 platform to develop dynamic, interactive
        Web applications. Also, its open, standards-based nature is
        complementary to Sun's own computing vision, which relies
        upon open standards and non-proprietary interfaces. The goal
        of SVG is to provide an open, standards-based alternative to
        proprietary formats for scalable vector graphics. With SVG,
        users will finally have a single, standard format with which
        to work and a simple solution for delivering high quality
        graphics to all web environments.
          -- Bill Smith, Manager, XML Technology Center,
             Sun Microsystems, and President, Board of Directors,
             OASIS


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