GIF

.gif (also gif, Graphics Interchange Format)--one of the many graphical file types. GIF was developed by CompuServe to compress bitmap files transmitted over their network. GIFs are the common graphical type used in WWW pages. GIFs are limited to 256 colors (8-bit).

On the WWW, GIFs are used to display graphics. Most graphical browsers are designed to view both GIFs and JPEG graphics, but GIFs are the most popular. One special feature of GIFs is the ability to define a color as transparent. Transparent GIFs allow the background of the page to show areas of the image, allowing for spectacular special effects and layouts.

URLs:

Graphics File Format Page

Lots of information about GIFs and many other graphic file types.

W3E References:

Designing HTML pages

JPEG

Print References:

• Mastering Web Graphics. Ed Tittel, Susan Price, James Michael Stewart. Wiley. 1996. (ISBN)
• Digital Images. Greenbarg. Osborne. 1995. (ISBN 0-07-882113-4)