Universal vector file formats

Hi Everybody,
Are there vector file formats similar to the TIFF and JPEG raster file
formats; i.e.
1. Independent of any application.
2. A non-compressed (like TIFF) and a compressed (like JPEG) file formats.
Phil
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  • As far as I'm aware, there is not a "good" universal, purpose defined and manufacturer-independent vector standard.

    JPEG and PNG are internationally-agreed standards, well defined for a specific purpose, not controlled by a single manufacturer and therefore we can expect most good applications to support them reliably. TIFF is slightly different -- the format is manufacturer-defined (by adobe) but but images are a relatively simple concept and most manufacturers have been able to adopt it reliably.

    Vector objects are a thousand times more complex. There are international standards such as CGM, but they do not cope with compound objects such as blends, or complex fills such as those CorelDraw uses.

    SVG is probably the most capable international standard, but it has been developed specifically for displaying on the web and lacks the features (including compound objects) that would allow it to preserve exact document features for further editing. Consequently most manufacturers have invented their own vector file formats, which intentionally contain features that make them difficult for other manufacturers to use.

    PDF cannot really be classed as a standard -- no international standards body controls it. It was intended to describe pages to a printing device, and for that purpse it is ideal. But it was never intended to be a vector interchange format, is much too complex for that purpose. In particular, it describes the results of printing a page, not the objects that the page contains. Companies like Corel do their best to be able to import from them and still bear some resemblance to the original file. But adobe can and does continuously find new ways of coding its generated PDF files to make it difficult for anybody else to keep up.

    So, the question can only really be answered by a further question -- what do you want to do with these files when you have created them?

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