Contents |
Microsoft Alternatives to SVG
In Microsoft's new Avalon, they will be using WVG, which is basically SVG but with different Microsoft style notation. We need to think about this and learn from WVG and see what type of standard Microsoft is pushing. Additionally, Avalon will incorporate 3D objects, making it simple for developers to integrate advanced 3D user interface objects much in the same way that WVG will allow them to include and manipulate vector objects.
WVG uptake could create another "browser war" type situation, where content authors are likely to use the proprietary microsoft standard, leaving OSS software unable to read/write to it without fear of patent litigation. Microsoft has publicly stated that seriously upstaging Linux in the GUI arena with Avalon is a major goal of Longhorn. The faster we get SVG plugins and SVG rendering by default into Mozilla, Gnome, and KDE, the more foothold SVG will have in the content creation community. Creation tools like Inkscape are key to this effort. Converters from SVG to XAML/WVG already exist so it makes little difference if developers choose to add XAML export to Inkscape. A powerful and flexible import infrastructure that would allow us to quickly adapt to new formats would be a good defense against new file formats like this.
Microsoft has rebranded WVG, the term is no longer used and has been systematically scrubbed from their Documentation. WVG has not gone away it has been subsumed into Avalon/XAML and is instead referred to as the 2D Graphics component of that standard. There is an application codenamed Sparkle which is rumoured to be part of the Microsoft strategy for easy creation of vector graphics. The Avalon part of XAML has been renamed yet again to Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) but it may well change again.
2004-10-20 Microsoft is currently debating including Avalon in Longhorn! 2005 But now it seems it will be a pre-release available for "community preview."
Research on XAML Graphics
- http://longhorn.msdn.microsoft.com/lhsdk/port_tech_graphics.aspx
- http://wesnerm.blogs.com/net_undocumented/2003/10/xaml_and_standa.html
SVG and XAML software and tools
(Adobe Illustrator) SVG to XAML from Xamalon.
SVG and SMIL compared to Flash
Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL, pronounced "smile"). Integrates a variety of multimedia files including SVG allowing presentations and animations comparable to Flash.