Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) is a free and open international standard file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

, and is defined by

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

/ IEC 8632.ISO/IEC 8632
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Overview

All graphical elements can be specified in a textual

source file In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...

that can be compiled into a

binary file A binary file is a computer file that is not a text file. The term "binary file" is often used as a term meaning "non-text file". Many binary file formats contain parts that can be interpreted as text; for example, some computer document fil ...

or one of two text representations. CGM provides a means of graphics data interchange for computer representation of 2D graphical information independent from any particular application, system, platform, or device. As a metafile, i.e., a file containing information that describes or specifies another file, the CGM format has numerous elements to provide functions and to represent entities, so that a wide range of graphical information and geometric primitives can be accommodated. Rather than establish an explicit

graphics file format An Image file format is a file format for a digital image. There are many formats that can be used, such as JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Most formats up until 2022 were for storing 2D images, not 3D ones. The data stored in an image file format may be ...

, CGM contains the instructions and data for reconstructing graphical components to render an image using an object-oriented approach. Although CGM is not widely supported for web pages and has been supplanted by other formats in the graphic arts, it is still prevalent in engineering, aviation, and other technical applications. The initial CGM implementation was effectively a streamed representation of a sequence of

Graphical Kernel System The Graphical Kernel System (GKS) was the first ISO standard for low-level computer graphics, introduced in 1977. A draft international standard was circulated for review in September 1983. Final ratification of the standard was achieved in 1985 ...

(GKS) primitive operations. It has been adopted to some extent in the areas of technical illustration and professional

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

, but has largely been superseded by formats such as SVG and DXF. The World Wide Web Consortium has developed WebCGM, a profile of CGM intended for the use of CGM on the Web.

History

*1986 – ANSI X3 122-1986 (

ANSI The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...

X3 committee) *1987 – ISO 8632-1987 (

) *1991 – ANSI/ISO 8632-1987 (ANSI and ISO) *1992 – ISO 8632:1992, a.k.a. CGM:1992 (ISO) *1999 – ISO/IEC 8632:1999, 2nd Edition (ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24) *December 17, 2001 – WebCGM ( W3C) *January 30, 2007 �
WebCGM 2.0
(W3C) *March 1, 2010 �
WebCGM 2.1
(W3C Recommendation)

References

External links

General

Overview of CGM Standards

Standards

WebCGM 1.0
W3C Recommendation, 17 December 2001
WebCGM 2.0
W3C Recommendation, 30 January 2007
WebCGM 2.1
W3C Recommendation, 1 March 2010
ISO/IEC 8632-1:1999
Part 1: Functional specification
ISO/IEC 8632-1:1999
Part 1: Technical Corrigendum 1
ISO/IEC 8632-1:1999
Part 1: Technical Corrigendum 2
ISO/IEC 8632-3:1999
Part 3: Binary encoding
ISO/IEC 8632-4:1999
Part 4: Clear text encoding

Other

{{Graphics file formats Graphics file formats Vector graphics markup languages Open formats Graphics standards American National Standards Institute standards World Wide Web Consortium standards ISO standards IEC standards