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Subject: [MT35101] 8. SVG 1.0 Status
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TIME: Complete this section within 20 minutes
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SVG 1.0 is an official W3C "Recommendation", before which it was
a "Candidate Recommendation". Read the W3C Process link on today's class
Web page to learn about the various stages of development that W3C technologies pass through before they
become official recommendations.
NOTE THAT THE W3C's "SVG 1.0" REFERS TO 1.0 VERSION OF THE SVG RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS JUST A
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT THAT DETAILS THE FEATURES OF THE FIRST MAJOR VERSION OF SVG.
IN CONTRAST, ADOBE'S "SVG Viewer 2.0" PLUG-IN AND "SVG Viewer 3.0" REFER TO
DIFFERENT VERSIONS, OR RELEASES, OF AN ADOBE SOFTWARE PRODUCT. IN OTHER WORDS, "SVG Viewer 2.0" REFERS TO THE 2nd MAJOR RELEASE
OF THE ADOBE SVG VIEWER WHICH HAPPENS TO BE ABLE TO VIEW SVG 1.0 CONTENT (CONTENT THAT CONFORMS TO THE SVG 1.0 SPECIFICATION PRODUCED
BY THE W3C). THIS CAN BE CONFUSING, BUT IT'S AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION:
W3C's "SVG 1.0" REFERS TO A SPECIFICATION VERSION, WHILE ADOBE'S SVG PLAYER HAS ITS VERY OWN VERSION NUMBERS (2.0, 3.0, ETC.)
THAT INDICATE WHAT REVISION OF THAT SOFTWARE PRODUCT YOU'RE DEALING WITH. Adobe's SVG Viewer 2.0 supports most, but not all,
of SVG 1.0, while version 3.0 of this plug-in supports even more SVG 1.0 features.
Because technologies such as SVG progress through different stages, it's important that you know what version of a given technology your
authoring tools produce, and what plug-ins support that version.
QUESTION: What version of SVG does Adobe's most current SVG Viewer
browser plug-in support? Is is SVG 1.0 as a full W3C Recommendation, or an earlier version
such as SVG 1.0 when it was only a Candidate Recommendation? To get the answer you must read the support document for this plug-in (visit the SVG
Viewer download page for details).
WARNING: Be careful to match your SVG authoring tool to the SVG
plug-in that your Web page visitors will be required to install.
If, for example, you plan to create SVG 1.0 content that can be seen
using Adobe's SVG Viewer player you'll have to choose an authoring
tool that creates SVG 1.0 content that can actually be viewed in
Adobe's SVG Viewer product -- this can be tricky. The only way to be
sure is to read the documentation for your authoring tool, and test
it using the plug-in you want to produce content for.
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Aaron E. Walsh http://www.gridinstitute.com/people/aew/
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