Inkscape SVG vs. plain SVG

Inkscape SVG vs. Plain SVG

Some notes about "Inkscape SVG" ref:

• the default mode of saving
• standards-conforming (the SVG standard permits these kinds of extensions)
• should render identically with or without the inkscape extensions
• gives Inkscape hints how to treat things in the UI -- for example, whether to treat a given group as a layer, or whether path nodes are cusp/flat/whatever
• seems to have a smaller filesize vs "PlainSVG" for some odd reason

"Saving document as 'plain SVG' actually invokes exporter. All objects will be reconstructed from parsed data, but overall object hierarchy will be preserved." -- quote from the documentation.

From my perspective,

• Inkscape svg is basically the same as plain svg, just with a few extra commands (in separate namespaces) added, which the Inkscape tools use to keep track of their work
• if you edit an inkscape svg in any other SVG editor, then it should appear as any other plain SVG, if not, then you can safely remove all references to inkscape: or sodipodi:, and just be left with the plain svg
• however, if you then re-edit the SVG in Inkscape (after hand editing, for example) 'without' removing the references to inkscape in the object that has been edited (for an example if you edit a path created using the inkscape star tool), then inkscape will re-generate the SVG path d="" attributes using the information that 'it' has stored under its namespace, and therefore getting rid of any editing to the path of that you, the user have done.

Below is an incomplete list of what is contained in the inkscape: and sodipodi: (preserved for backwards compatibility with its functions) namespaces

• <svg>
  • inkscape:output_extension
  • inkscape:version
  • (sodipodi:docbase)
  • (sodipodi:docname)
  • sodipodi:modified
  • sodipodi:version
• <sodipodi:namedview>
  • bordercolor
  • borderopacity
  • id
  • inkscape:cx
  • inkscape:cy
  • inkscape:pageopacity
  • inkscape:pageshadow
  • inkscape:window-height
  • inkscape:window-width
  • inkscape:zoom
  • pagecolor
  • inkscape:current-layer
• <svg:Gradients>
  • inkscape:collect
• <svg:path >(in patten defs)
  • sodipodi:cx
  • sodipodi:cy
  • sodipodi:rx
  • sodipodi:ry
• <svg:path> (in spiral)
  • sodipodi:argument
  • sodipodi:cx
  • sodipodi:cy
  • sodipodi:expansion
  • sodipodi:radius
  • sodipodi:revolution
  • sodipodi:t0
  • sodipodi:type
• <svg:path> (in star)
  • inkscape:flatsided
  • inkscape:randomized
  • inkscape:rounded
  • sodipodi:arg1
  • sodipodi:arg2
  • sodipodi:cx
  • sodipodi:cy
  • sodipodi:r1
  • sodipodi:r2
  • sodipodi:sides
  • sodipodi:type
• (tiled clones)
  • inkscape:tiled-clone-of
  • inkscape:tile-cx
  • inkscape:tile-cy
  • inkscape:tile-h
  • inkscape:tile-w
• <svg:g> (id=layer)
  • inkscape:groupmode
  • inkscape:lable
• (connectors)
  • inkscape:connector-avoid:
  • inkscape:connector-type
  • inkscape:connector-start
  • inkscape:connector-end
• (others)
  • sodipodi:nodetypes?