Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) is an ISO standard, defined by ISO/IEC
8632:1999, for the interchange of 2D vector and mixed vector/raster graphics.
WebCGM is a profile of CGM, which adds Web linking and is optimized for Web
applications in technical illustration, electronic documentation, geophysical
data visualization, and similar fields. First published (1.0) in 1999, WebCGM
unifies potentially diverse approaches to CGM utilization in Web document
applications. It therefore represents a significant interoperability agreement
amongst major users and implementers of the ISO CGM standard.
The design criteria for WebCGM aim to balance graphical expressive power on
the one hand, versus simplicity and implementability on the other. A small but
powerful set of standardized metadata elements supports the functionalities of
hyperlinking and document navigation, picture structuring and layering, and
enabling search and query of WebCGM picture content.
The present version, WebCGM 2.1, refines and completes the features of the
major WebCGM 2.0 release. WebCGM 2.0 added a DOM (API) specification for
programmatic access to WebCGM objects, a specification of an XML Companion File
(XCF) architecture, and extended the graphical and intelligent content of
WebCGM 1.0.
This section describes the status of this document at the time of its
publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C
publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in
the W3C technical reports index at
http://www.w3.org/TR/.
This is a W3C Candidate Recommendation of the WebCGM 2.1. W3C publishes a Candidate
Recommendation to indicate that the document is believed to be stable and
to encourage implementation by the developer community. The WebCGM Working
Group expects to request that the Director advance this document to Proposed
Recommendation when the following exit criteria have been met:
1. Sufficient reports of implementation experience have been gathered to
demonstrate that the WebCGM 2.1 features are implementable and are interpreted
in a consistent manner. To do so, the Working Group will insure that all
features in the WebCGM 2.1 specification have been implemented at least twice
in an interoperable way. This defined this as :
- the implementations have been developed independently,
- each test in the WebCGM 2.1 test suite has at least two passing
implementations.
2. The Working Group has adopted a public
test suite for WebCGM 2.1 and has produced a preliminary WebCGM
2.1 implementation report.
The preliminary Interoperability Implementation Report shows that a fair
amount of WebCGM 2.1 features are already implemented. This document will
remain a Candidate Recommendation until at least 15 October 2009.
The Working Group has identified the following features as "at risk":
Features for which there are not at least two implementations at the end of
the Candidate Recommendation period may be removed from this specification.
This document was developed by the WebCGM Working Group, part of
the Graphics Activity. The
Working Group expects to advance this Working Draft to Recommendation Status.
The list of changes made since the last public Working Draft is available in Appendix
D, "Change Log", and are highlighted in the text itself.
WebCGM 2.1 is related to the previous W3C work on WebCGM 1.0 and 2.0. WebCGM 2.0 was
simultaneously published by W3C as a Recommendation and by OASIS as an OASIS
Standard. The two versions are identical in technical content, differing only
in the formatting and presentation conventions of the two organizations. It is
agreed that WebCGM 2.1 will be progressed by the same collaborative process and
will result in technically a identical Recommendation and OASIS Standard.
This WebCGM 2.1 specification was initially based on a work by the same
name, WebCGM 2.1 an OASIS
Committee Specification.
The W3C Membership and other interested parties are invited to review the
document and send comments through 15 October 2009 to public-webcgm@w3.org
mailing list (public archive),
including the prefix '[WebCGM 2.1 CR comment]' in the subject line.
Publication as a Candidate Recommendation does not imply endorsement by the
W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or
obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this
document as other than work in progress.
This document was produced by a group operating under the 5 February 2004 W3C
Patent Policy. W3C maintains a public list of any patent
disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the group; that
page also includes instructions for disclosing a patent. An individual who has
actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential
Claim(s) must disclose the information in accordance with section
6 of the W3C Patent Policy.
