file formats
4 messages in this thread
To anybody,
I am looking to compile a database of file formats for a to-bepublished
project an employer of mine is undertaking.
I want to include PC, Mac, and Amiga file formats, both common and obscure.
If anyone could please supply the following basic information about file
formats used by products published by their company (or products they know
about), I would greatly appreciate it.
1. How is the format identified (e.g. on Mac by Type and Creator, on DOS by
extension, etc.)
2. What kind of data is the format used for (Macintosh PICT files store
object oriented graphics, etc.).
3. What are the highlights/major advantages of the format over formats used
by competing products. Please, the more technical here the better.
That's all! As I said before, this information is going to form the basis
for a forthcoming publication about file formats, conversions, data
compression, and the like, covering the three major desktop computer
platforms.
Thanks very much for any information you can provide, and if you'd like to
hear more about our project, please feel free to contact me at 71760,1671.
Thanks again.
Jonah Benton
I know lots about file formats, it's my business. Once upon a time, a
publisher wanted me to help them write a book like that, but they were
going to pay me. You're asking for a lot! Are you going to share the loot?
🙂
I wish you luck. It seems that the so-called standard formats are not so
standard. The documentation for the Pee Cee program Hiijack gives a quick
recap of the graphics formats and some of the other stuff you are asking
about. The May issue of Computer Shopper has some pretty nasty
observations about graphics formats.
It seems like ADPro uses the preferred method of checking what a
file-type is which is to look at the header information. Extensions are
optional I've done some format conversion hacks and can assure you that
there is a whole lot of cheating going on. I've seen GIF89a files modified
to show GIF87a as well as the legendary GIFBozo Macintosh machinations.
If you are interested primarily in graphics formats, I would recommend
that you take a peek in the GraphSupport forum here on CI$. They have
descriptions and source code for many popular formats.
– via Whap!
Get ahold of the ROM Kernel Manual: Devices, and read the chapters on IFF.
That covers most of the common Amiga file formats (Animation, sound,
graphics).
…Steve