World Wide Web Consortium Issues Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 and Mobile SVG as Candidate Recommendations

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Open Graphics Format Extends Multimedia Beyond the Desktop to Cellphones and Pocket Computers

Testimonials

 

http://www.w3.org/ -- 30 April 2002 --The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has issued Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 and Mobile SVG Profiles as W3C Candidate Recommendations. Advancement of these documents to Candidate Recommendation is a statement that the specifications are stable, and an invitation to the Web development community at large to make further implementations of SVG and provide technical feedback. SVG 1.1 separates SVG capabilities into reusable building blocks, and SVG Mobile re-combines them in a way optimized for mobile devices.

SVG 1.1 Brings Modularization to Vector Graphics

The graphical capabilities of SVG 1.1 are the same as those of the widely implemented SVG 1.0 , which has been a W3C Recommendation since 4 September 2001. What has changed is the way the language is defined. For SVG 1.0, the Document Type Definition (DTD) was a single, monolithic unit. In SVG 1.1, the DTD is divided up into smaller, more flexible functional building blocks that can be reassembled in different ways for different purposes. The SVG Working Group used the same proven modularization techniques pioneered by the HTML Working Group for XHTML modularization.

Mobile SVG Profiles bring Vector Graphics to Handheld Devices

There is an explosion of interest in handheld devices and mobile phones which have color screens, improved processing power and can deliver enhanced multimedia functionality. These still fall short of the capabilities of desktop and laptop machines, but are now capable of displaying Web standard technologies such as XHTML, SMIL and SVG. W3C has used the SVG 1.1 building blocks to make two profiles or subsets of full SVG; SVG Tiny, aimed at multimedia capable cellphones such as the recently announced 3G units, and SVG Basic for handheld and palmtop computers.

"Cellphones allow Internet and Web access for millions of people who don't have access to desktop machines, temporarily or otherwise," said Dean Jackson, W3C Fellow from CSIRO. "With 3GPP already incorporating Mobile SVG, we can look forward to more rich and useful content in third generation cellphones."

Instead of sending text messages or canned, bitmap logos, SVG Tiny makes it possible to send a colorful animated multimedia message. Instead of juggling a laptop or taking a static printout to the factory floor, construction site, hospital ward, or trading room, SVG Basic enables the mobile professional to consult up to date, interactive, informative graphics on a convenient pocket computer which is dynamically updated over a wireless network connected to the XML information hub of the enterprise.

SVG 1.1 Integrates with Open Technologies, XML components

Another way that W3C and others are making use of the modular SVG 1.1 building blocks is to combine them with building blocks from other W3C technologies to produce more powerful, integrated solutions. Examples include the combination of SVG and XForms to construct graphically rich, interactive input forms, or SVG and SMIL Basic to combine vector graphics with streaming audio and video. Today, W3C also released the first Working Draft of an integrated XHTML, MathML and SVG specification as an example of such integration; it forms an excellent foundation for scientific and technical communication including text with headings, lists and tables; mathematical equations, and interactive graphs and diagrams.

"As with all W3C Recommendations, SVG builds on established, open W3C technologies such as XML, CSS and DOM. SVG also has received rigorous review for Internationalization and Web Accessibility requirements, which results in natural integration with existing technologies. This maximizes application power while minimizing its footprint," said Chris Lilley, chair of the SVG Working Group and member of the W3C Technical Architecture Group (TAG). "Adopting open, truly standards-based solutions is already showing return on investment; the pieces fit together in powerful, extensible and economical ways."

SVG Mobile is Ready for Implementors

Candidate Recommendation is W3C's public call for implementation, an explicit invitation for W3C Members and the developer community at large to review the Mobile SVG specification, build their own implementations of Mobile SVG and create Mobile SVG content for testing. W3C also invites the developer community to create multi-namespace SVG documents and to create document types that include SVG as the graphical component. This period of implementation and reporting allows the Working Group to learn how other developers are using SVG , and where there may be ambiguities for implementors. Public testing and implementation contribute to more robust Mobile SVG and SVG 1.1 specifications, and to more deployment on a wider variety of platforms.

SVG Has Broad, Continued Industry Support

The SVG Working Group has benefitted from the expertise of leading names in the graphics and mobile communications industries, including: Adobe, Agfa-Gevaert N.V., America Online Inc., BitFlash, Canon, Corel Corporation, CSIRO, Eastman Kodak, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, ILOG S.A., KDDI Research Labs, Nokia, Openwave Systems Ltd, Quark, Savage Software, Schema Software, Sharp Corporation, Sun Microsystems Inc. and ZOOMON AB. Many have pledged product support for SVG 1.1 and Mobile SVG.

For more information on SVG, see the W3C SVG Overview.

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 500 organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

 

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Contact Asia --
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Testimonials for W3C's SVG 1.1 Candidate Recommendation

In English: Adobe | BitFlash | Canon | Corel | CSIRO | ILOG | KDDI |Nokia |Openwave | Primaci | Savage Software

In French: Corel | CSIRO

In Japanese: キヤノン株式会社 | 株式会社 KDDI 研究所

In German: Corel

Adobe

Adobe is very pleased that the SVG 1.1 and SVG Mobile specifications have become W3C Candidate Recommendations. SVG Mobile will extend the reach of dynamic data driven graphical information onto handheld devices. SVG Mobile provides another target for Adobe's overall Network Publishing strategy and its portfolio of SVG-enabled products, including Adobe Illustrator® 10.0, Adobe AlterCast® 1.5, Adobe GoLive® 6.0, Adobe InDesign® 2.0, and Adobe FrameMaker® 7.0.

-- Jon Ferraiolo, Engineering Director, Adobe Systems

BitFlash

BitFlash is pleased to be an active member of the W3C SVG Working Group. We are particularly excited to see Mobile SVG become a requirement for next generation (2.5 and 3G) wireless devices. By making the SVG Tiny profile (SVGT) a requirement for mobile multimedia messaging, the Third Generation Partner Program (3GPP) acknowledges the vast potential of Mobile SVG in the MMS market. BitFlash is honoured to have contributed to the SVGT specifications and is excited about the possibilities this open standard presents for dynamic, visually rich mobile content and interoperability in wireless applications.

-- Frédéric Charpentier, President and Chief Technology Officer, BitFlash Inc.

Canon

The module based SVG 1.1 specification represents a significant step forward for the adoption of vector graphics technology on a wide range of information appliances. Canon is very pleased by the release of SVG 1.1 and SVG Mobile Profiles as W3C Candidate Recommendations. We expect that SVG will bring compelling graphical content to a variety of mobile devices.

-- Yukichi Niwa, Group Executive, Canon Inc.

Corel

We are extremely proud to be an active participant in the creation and design of the SVG Mobile specification. Open standards such as SVG Mobile are the only suitable solution to meet the growing demand for effective visual access to information, applications and services -- regardless of user location or device. Our recently launched deepwhite initiative targets the needs of enterprise and government customers with content solutions that leverage open standards such as XML, SVG, and SVG Mobile.

-- Derek Burney, president and CEO of Corel Corporation

CSIRO

CSIRO is very pleased to have participated in the effective international collaborative effort that has now seen SVG 1.1 and SVG Mobile become Candidate Recommendations of the W3C. As Australia's premier research and development organisation, CSIRO believes SVG will be a major force in a wide range of markets, especially mobile computing, and has made a commitment to the SVG community with its PocketSVG technology, a toolkit for developing Mobile SVG applications.

-- Dr Geoff Garrett, Chief Executive Officer, CSIRO Australia

ILOG

With SVG 1.1, developers can now create SVG to go, bringing the power of SVG graphics to handheld devices. ILOG is pleased to have been a part of bringing this new mobile graphics revolution into being - as a W3C SVG working group member, as a vendor with one of the first commercial products to support SVG, ILOG JViews, and finally, as an open source contributor with Batik, the Apache XML toolkit for SVG.

-- Patrick Megard, Director of ILOG Visualization Product Line

KDDI

As a major Japanese cellular phone career, KDDI R&D Laboratories Inc has long been working on the popularization of Web services for mobile terminals and is currently developing various content services based on SVG Mobile. As such, we are very pleased to see that now SVG 1.1 become a Candidate Recommendation which, we believe, will certainly facilitate further the utilization of Mobile Web services or map information services and thus make SVG one of major communication media for cellular phone users.

-- Shuichi Matsumoto, Executive Director, KDDI R&D Laboratories Incorporated

Nokia

Nokia welcomes the advancement of Mobile SVG to W3C Candidate Recommendation. We believe that Mobile SVG will play a significant role in future mobile multimedia applications. Nokia has demonstrated its commitment to W3C open standards by taking the responsibility of the editorship for the new specification, and has strongly driven the adoption in 3GPP standards of the Mobile SVG profile for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and Packet Switched Streaming (PSS). Nokia believes that the availability of a open and mobile-friendly standard for the creation of vector graphics content will play a central role in creating a dynamic and rich market for applications that fully exploit the capabilities of these exciting technologies.

-- Janne Juhola, Senior Technology Manager, Multimedia - Nokia Mobile Phones, Nokia, Inc.

Openwave

Openwave is pleased to have contributed to the development of SVG 1.1/Mobile for the benefit of the mobile industry. This standard will enable and improve the user experience of messaging services and other entertaining mobile applications, providing more revenue opportunities for handset manufacturers, mobile network operators, and content developers.

-- Bruce Martin, VP of Technology, Openwave Systems, Inc.

Primaci

Primaci congratulates the W3C on their excellent work with the 1.1 candidate status for SVG. As the preferred solution for visualizing large datasets, especially in the life sciences arena, SVG provides us with a platform for visualization that maintains the scientific intelligence originally used to create the image. Primaci is committed to the future of SVG as one of the main XML components of our system.

-- Chris Boothroyd, CTO Primaci, A Life Science Company

Savage Software

Savage Software is pleased to support the 1.1 candidate recommendation status for SVG. Using SVG, we have been able to deliver data-driven interactive content for industries that have CAD or GIS based data. As SVG gains adoption across the web and on mobile devices, we look forward to continuing the development of SVG as the premier solution for XML-based graphic workflows.

-- Vince Lebow, CEO, Savage Software

Corel

Nous sommes particulièrement fiers de participer activement à la création et l'élaboration de la norme SVG Mobile. Les normes ouvertes, à l'instar de SVG Mobile, constituent l'unique solution capable de répondre à une demande croissante en termes d'accès visuel effectif aux informations, applications et services et ce, indépendamment de la situation géographique ou de l'équipement des utilisateurs. Le récent lancement de notre nouvelle marque de produits deepwhite vise à proposer aux entreprises et institutions gouvernementales des solutions de contenu basées sur les normes ouvertes, telles que XML, SVG et SVG Mobile.

-- Derek Burney, PDG de Corel Corporation

CSIRO

CSIRO est heureux d'avoir fait partie de l'efficace collaboration internationale qui a permis que SVG 1.1 et SVG Mobile deviennent des spécifications Candidates à Recommandation du W3C. Persuadé que SVG va devenir une force majeure pour un grand nombre de marchés, CSIRO, la principale organisation de Recherche et Développement d'Australie, s'est beaucoup investi dans la communauté SVG, en particulier pour l'informatique nomade avec sa technologie PocketSVG, un kit pour le développement d'applications de SVG pour terminaux mobiles.

-- Dr Geoff Garrett, Chief Executive Officer, CSIRO Australie

キヤノン株式会社

モジュールベースの SVG 1.1 仕様は、 さまざまな情報機器でベクターグラフィック技術が利用できるようにするための非常に重要な意味をもった仕様です。 キヤノンは、この SVG 1.1 および SVG Mobile Profile 仕様が W3C 勧告候補としてリリースされたことを心より歓迎するとともに、SVG が携帯機器に素晴らしいグラフィックコンテンツをもたらす技術となることを期待しています。

-- 丹羽雄吉、本部長、 キヤノン株式会社

株式会社 KDDI 研究所

KDDI 株式会社は日本の携帯電話キャリアとしてモバイル Web サービスの普及に取り組んでいます。また株式会社 KDDI 研究所は、現在 SVG Mobile コンテンツサービスの開発を行っています。我々は、モバイル Web サービスや地図情報サービスを意識した SVG 1.1 が Candidate Recommendation になったことを心から歓迎すると共に、SVG が携帯電話ユーザにとって主要なコミュニケーションメディアになると信じています。

-- 松本修一、執行役員、株式会社 KDDI 研究所

Corel

Wir sind stolz darauf, aktiv bei der Gestaltung und dem Design der SVG Mobile-Spezifikationen mitzuwirken. Der Einsatz von offenen Standards wie SVG Mobile ist der einzig taugliche Weg, um der wachsenden Nachfrage nach effektivem visuellem Zugriff auf Daten, Anwendungen und Dienstleistungen - unabhängig von Benutzerstandort und Gerät - nachzukommen. Unsere erst kürzlich lancierte neue Marke deepwhite orientiert sich mit ihren Content-Lösungen, die offene Standards wie XML, SVG und SVG Mobile nutzen, an den Bedürfnissen von Großkunden und der öffentlichen Verwaltung.

-- Derek Burney, Präsident und CEO der Corel Corporation

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