Vector and bitmap - Revision history

Jona: provide alternative for dead link

2016-08-23T19:59:24Z

provide alternative for dead link

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:59, 23 August 2016
Line 29:		Line 29:
	The only downside of vectors is that you are limited by the types of objects and properties that your drawing tool and vector format support. While you can store arbitrary graphics (e.g. photos) in bitmaps, you cannot easily simulate very complex graphics with vectors. Still, with Inkscape's gradients and transparency, you can create amazingly photorealistic vector images. Note also that, as a higher-level abstraction, vector may include bitmaps as a special kind of object. Thus, you can insert a photo into an Inkscape drawing and combine it with any vector objects.		The only downside of vectors is that you are limited by the types of objects and properties that your drawing tool and vector format support. While you can store arbitrary graphics (e.g. photos) in bitmaps, you cannot easily simulate very complex graphics with vectors. Still, with Inkscape's gradients and transparency, you can create amazingly photorealistic vector images. Note also that, as a higher-level abstraction, vector may include bitmaps as a special kind of object. Thus, you can insert a photo into an Inkscape drawing and combine it with any vector objects.

	See [http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html Math and Games] from the webmaster of [http://www.mathpuzzle.com/ Math Puzzle] which covers this information, and much more. It also has very many links.		See [http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html Math and Games] [https://web.archive.org/web/20050814012611/http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html [archived]] from the webmaster of [http://www.mathpuzzle.com/ Math Puzzle] which covers this information, and much more. It also has very many links.

	[[Category:User Documentation]]		[[Category:User Documentation]]

Jona: +link to fr

2016-08-23T19:52:25Z

+link to fr

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:52, 23 August 2016
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	{{Other languages\|en=Vector and bitmap\|de=VectorUndBitmap}}		{{Other languages\|en=Vector and bitmap\|de=VectorUndBitmap\|fr=Vectoriel et matriciel}}

	Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does that mean?		Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does that mean?

Jona: +multi-languages banner

2016-08-03T20:48:41Z

+multi-languages banner

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:48, 3 August 2016
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			{{Other languages\|en=Vector and bitmap\|de=VectorUndBitmap}}

	Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does that mean?		Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does that mean?

Jona: Replace "The GIMP" by "GIMP"

2016-08-01T12:24:27Z

Replace "The GIMP" by "GIMP"

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:24, 1 August 2016
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	As a result, there is little the computer itself can do with such an image. It can paint all white pixels blue, but it cannot move or transform the circle because it does not "see" it. These kinds of tasks may be difficult even for humans, as anyone who've used The Gimp or Photoshop would attest: you'll have to use complex and unreliable tools to "select" the circle, and you still cannot do this perfectly if, for example, the edges of the circle are anti-aliased (i.e. smoothed so that some pixels are half-black, half-white).		As a result, there is little the computer itself can do with such an image. It can paint all white pixels blue, but it cannot move or transform the circle because it does not "see" it. These kinds of tasks may be difficult even for humans, as anyone who've used The Gimp or Photoshop would attest: you'll have to use complex and unreliable tools to "select" the circle, and you still cannot do this perfectly if, for example, the edges of the circle are anti-aliased (i.e. smoothed so that some pixels are half-black, half-white).

	It's all different with vector graphics. In a vector format, the actual circle can be stored, along with its properties, as an object. This means you can easily separate it from other objects and do whatever you please with it. Moreover, computer can do a lot of things automatically! No more frustrating "selections", just pick any object and edit it as necessary. That's how Inkscape works, and that's its main point of difference from bitmap editors such as [[~~The_Gimp~~]].		It's all different with vector graphics. In a vector format, the actual circle can be stored, along with its properties, as an object. This means you can easily separate it from other objects and do whatever you please with it. Moreover, computer can do a lot of things automatically! No more frustrating "selections", just pick any object and edit it as necessary. That's how Inkscape works, and that's its main point of difference from bitmap editors such as [[GIMP]].

	Here are the main advantages of the vector approach:		Here are the main advantages of the vector approach:

Frigory: No redundant heading

2016-07-27T05:42:50Z

No redundant heading

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:42, 27 July 2016
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	~~= Vector and Bitmap =~~

	Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does that mean?		Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does that mean?

Frigory: Frigory moved page VectorAndBitmap to Vector and bitmap: Real words

2016-07-27T05:40:31Z

Frigory moved page VectorAndBitmap to Vector and bitmap: Real words

← Older revision	Revision as of 05:40, 27 July 2016
(No difference)

GigaClon: Categorization

2006-06-20T03:26:06Z

Categorization

New page

= Vector and Bitmap =

Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does that mean?

The majority of images stored and processed on computers today are bitmaps. A bitmap, however, is a very low-level abstraction. It stores information about what is the color (and, possibly, transparency) of every pixel of the image - but nothing else.

For example, if you have a PNG image with a black circle on white background, in fact there is NO black circle stored in the image at all: it's only the person viewing this image who can "guess" that it displays a circle. All that the computer knows about the image is that some of its pixels are black and some are white.

As a result, there is little the computer itself can do with such an image. It can paint all white pixels blue, but it cannot move or transform the circle because it does not "see" it. These kinds of tasks may be difficult even for humans, as anyone who've used The Gimp or Photoshop would attest: you'll have to use complex and unreliable tools to "select" the circle, and you still cannot do this perfectly if, for example, the edges of the circle are anti-aliased (i.e. smoothed so that some pixels are half-black, half-white).

It's all different with vector graphics. In a vector format, the actual circle can be stored, along with its properties, as an object. This means you can easily separate it from other objects and do whatever you please with it. Moreover, computer can do a lot of things automatically! No more frustrating "selections", just pick any object and edit it as necessary. That's how Inkscape works, and that's its main point of difference from bitmap editors such as [[The_Gimp]].

Here are the main advantages of the vector approach:

* '''Editable at any time.''' The depth of "undo" is a much less limiting factor in Inkscape than in a bitmap editor. Unless you delete some object, it's always as easy to separate from others and edit as always. In a bitmap editor, you are supposed to eventually "flatten" your image, so even if different objects were on different layers, they're no more. By contrast, there's no need to ever "flatten" a vector drawing (you can export it to a bitmap, though).

* '''Scalable.''' You can view or export your drawing at any resolution, and you'll never see any jaggedness or "zoom blur." Everything remains crisp regardless of size.

* '''Animatable.''' Since in a vector drawing, objects are stored separately, it's easy to animate them by moving, transforming, etc. That's why vector formats such as SVG or Flash usually support animation as well.

* '''Interactive.''' Not only can you animate objects, you can make them interactive as well. A drawing can change any properties of objects in response to user actions, which makes it possible to implement complex interfaces with buttons, links, drag-and-drop, etc.

* '''Easy to create.''' Since vector objects are similar to how we (humans) tend to think about drawings, and since many vector formats (including SVG) are text-based, it is easy to write a simple vector drawing manually (without graphic editor of any kind) or program a script to generate such a drawing, e.g. on a web server.

* '''Reusable.''' It's very easy to pick an object from a drawing and insert it into another drawing. It's like open source! :)

If you are into digital music, you may better understand it if I compare vector graphics to MIDI and bitmap graphics to a sound recording. Another analogy: vectors are like the source code of a program, while bitmaps are compiled binaries.

The only downside of vectors is that you are limited by the types of objects and properties that your drawing tool and vector format support. While you can store arbitrary graphics (e.g. photos) in bitmaps, you cannot easily simulate very complex graphics with vectors. Still, with Inkscape's gradients and transparency, you can create amazingly photorealistic vector images. Note also that, as a higher-level abstraction, vector may include bitmaps as a special kind of object. Thus, you can insert a photo into an Inkscape drawing and combine it with any vector objects.

See [http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_08_01_05.html Math and Games] from the webmaster of [http://www.mathpuzzle.com/ Math Puzzle] which covers this information, and much more. It also has very many links.

[[Category:User Documentation]]

Buliabyak: *

2003-11-29T14:47:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:47, 29 November 2003
Line 29:		Line 29:
	It's all different with vector graphics. In a vector format, the actual circle can be stored, along with its properties, as an ''object''. This means you can easily separate it from other objects		It's all different with vector graphics. In a vector format, the actual circle can be stored, along with its properties, as an ''object''. This means you can easily separate it from other objects
	and do whatever you please with it. Moreover, computer can do a lot of things automatically! No more frustrating "selections", just pick any object and edit it as necessary. That's how Inkscape works, and		and do whatever you please with it. Moreover, computer can do a lot of things automatically! No more frustrating "selections", just pick any object and edit it as necessary. That's how Inkscape works, and
	that's its main point of difference from bitmap editors such as the ~~GIMP~~.		that's its main point of difference from bitmap editors such as the Gimp.

Buliabyak: *

2003-11-29T14:46:44Z

New page

= Vector and Bitmap =

Inkscape is a vector editor, not bitmap (raster) editor. What does
that mean?

The majority of images stored and processed on computers today are
bitmaps. A bitmap, however, is a very low-level abstraction. It
stores information about what is the color (and, possibly,
transparency) of every pixel of the image - but nothing else.

For example, if you have a PNG image with a black circle on white
background, in fact there is NO black circle stored in the image at
all: it's only the person viewing this image who can "guess" that it
displays a circle. All that the computer knows about the image is
that some of its pixels are black and some are white.

As a result, there is little the computer ''itself'' can do with such an image. It can paint all white pixels blue, but it cannot move or transform the circle because it does not "see" it. These kinds of tasks may be difficult even for humans, as anyone who've used The Gimp or Photoshop would attest: you'll have to use complex and unreliable tools to "select" the circle, and you still cannot do this
perfectly if, for example, the edges of the circle are anti-aliased (i.e. smoothed so that some pixels are half-black, half-white).

It's all different with vector graphics. In a vector format, the actual circle can be stored, along with its properties, as an ''object''. This means you can easily separate it from other objects
and do whatever you please with it. Moreover, computer can do a lot of things automatically! No more frustrating "selections", just pick any object and edit it as necessary. That's how Inkscape works, and
that's its main point of difference from bitmap editors such as the GIMP.

Here are the main advantages of the vector approach:

* '''Editable at any time.''' The depth of "undo" is a much less limiting factor in Inkscape than in a bitmap editor. Unless you delete some object, it's always as easy to separate from others and edit as always. In a bitmap editor, you are supposed to eventually "flatten" your image, so even if different objects were on different layers, they're no more. By contrast, there's no need to ever "flatten" a vector drawing (you can export it to a bitmap, though).

* '''Scalable.''' You can view or export your drawing at any resolution, and you'll never see any jaggedness or "zoom blur." Everything remains crisp regardless of size.

* '''Animatable.''' Since in a vector drawing, objects are stored separately, it's easy to animate them by moving, transforming, etc. That's why vector formats such as SVG or Flash usually support animation as well.

* '''Interactive.''' Not only can you animate objects, you can make them interactive as well. A drawing can change any properties of objects in response to user actions, which makes it possible to implement complex interfaces with buttons, links, drag-and-drop, etc.

* '''Easy to create.''' Since vector objects are similar to how we (humans) tend to think about drawings, and since many vector formats (including SVG) are text-based, it is easy to write a simple vector drawing manually (without graphic editor of any kind) or program a script to generate such a drawing, e.g. on a web server.

* '''Reusable.''' It's very easy to pick an object from a drawing and insert it into another drawing. It's like open source! :)

If you are into digital music, you may better understand it if I
compare vector graphics to MIDI and bitmap graphics to a sound
recording. Another analogy: vectors are like the source code of a
program, while bitmaps are compiled binaries.

The only downside of vectors is that you are limited by the types of objects and
properties that your drawing tool and vector format support. While you can store
arbitrary graphics (e.g. photos) in bitmaps, you cannot easily simulate very complex
graphics with vectors. Still, with Inkscape's gradients and transparency, you can create
amazingly photorealistic vector images. Note also that, as a higher-level abstraction,
vector may include bitmaps as a special kind of object. Thus, you can insert a photo
into an Inkscape drawing and combine it with any vector objects.