SVG Basic

Scalable Vector Graphics

Filename extensions	.svg   .svgz
Internet media type	image/svg+xml
Uniform Type Identifier (UTI)	public.svg-image
Developed by	W3C
Initial release	4 September 2001 (15 years ago) (2001-09-04)
Latest release	1.1 (Second Edition) (16 August 2011; 5 years ago (2011-08-16))
Type of format	Vector graphics
Extended from	XML
Standard	W3C SVG
Open format?	Yes
Website	www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an XML-based vector image format for two-dimensional graphics with support for interactivity and animation. The SVG specification is an open standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) since 1999.

SVG images and their behaviors are defined in XML text files. This means that they can be searched, indexed, scripted, and compressed. As XML files, SVG images can be created and edited with any text editor, as well as with drawing software.

All major modern web browsers—including Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Microsoft Edge—have SVG rendering support.

SVG has been in development within the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) since 1999, after six competing proposals for vector graphics languages had been submitted to the consortium during 1998. The early SVG Working Group decided not to develop any of the commercial submissions, but to create a new markup language that was informed by but not really based on any of them.

SVG allows three types of graphic objects: vector graphic shapes such as paths and outlines consisting of straight lines and curves, bitmap images and text. Graphical objects can be grouped, styled, transformed and composited into previously rendered objects. The feature set includes nested transformations, clipping paths, alpha masks, filter effects and template objects. SVG drawings can be interactive and can include animation, defined in the SVG XML elements or via scripting that accesses the SVG Document Object Model (DOM). SVG uses CSS for styling and JavaScript for scripting. Text, including internationalization and localization, appearing in plain text within the SVG DOM enhances the accessibility of SVG graphics.