[CREATE] OpenRaster

[Leonard Rosenthol]

At 02:20 AM 6/21/2006, Boudewijn Rempt wrote:
> > * Any hierarchical arrangements should be described in XML and not
> > using the "fake directories" of ZIP/Tar. However, common naming
> > conventions for files/paths should be established.
>
>Well, I wouldn't call them fake,

         They are - in that the file structure is flat and the 
hierarchy is "visual" by pathnames. It's not a true hierarchical 
structure ala formats such as StuffIt.


>Oyvind Kolas proposed to make it possible to also store jpegs as read-only
>layers. I'm not sure how to make that work without, though.

         The only thing that I could see JPEG being used for, which 
isn't noted in your format description, is as a "preview" or 
"thumbnail" image.  It may also be worthwhile to have it as a "fully 
composited" image - ala Photoshop - for applications that don't have 
all the tools for composite on the fly but want to display the image.


>Are you sure it's  a good idea to make it impossible to store 
>non-float rgb/grayscale data in
>the same way as cmyk/lab?

         I guess I should have said that use of PNG for those is a 
recommendation and not a requirement.  I agree that in a file that 
contains BOTH RGB and CMYK data, you'd probably want to use the same 
storage method - but in an RGB-only, you might stick with PNG.


>Oh, and by "raw bits" -- do you mean no structuring  of the pixel 
>layer data in tiles?

         I do.  I am not a big fan of tiled image data. But that's 
more personal than technical.


>Probably, but don't we want OpenDocument compatibility here?

         But this is part of an embedded raster image inside of an 
ODF document - not the other way around.  If you try to make this 
format also provide for compound documents - ala PDF or XPS - you 
will dilute it's true purpose.


LDR

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Leonard Rosenthol                            <mailto:leonardr at pdfsages.com>
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