About SVG (use or not use?)

Question

About SVG: is it an old technology? I mean that in a year he will die (will be forgotten)? Is SVG good for new vector graphics launches? How much is SVG supported by browsers and developers? Can I find achievement libraries and good books about it?

Thanks for any advice !!!

Answer 1

All major browsers support SVG quite well, except for IE. IE9 will provide SVG support, but not the entire specification (e.g. SMIL and filters will not be available). Moreover, recent JavaScript performance improvements also benefit SVG.

I do not think that he will die soon. In fact, so far it has not been used in web projects due to the lack of browser support. But as soon as IE9 is available, I predict an increase in SVG usage. Of course, in the near future it will not be reset.

Some large companies are already using it. Google Maps does, and if necessary returns to VML (old IE vector graphics vector).

Canvas is the main competitor, but there is a big difference between them: Canvas is an API, and SVG is a document that you can modify through the DOM.

You do not need libraries, since SVG is XML. Just write how you write HTML.

This way, it can fit your needs, depending on your application.

Answer 2

SVG was first introduced in 2001 using SVG 1.0. He is not dead yet.

I suggest starting with a Wikipedia article on SVG: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Vector_Graphics

Which should answer most of your questions. I cannot be more specific about how suitable it is for your application, since I have no idea what kind of application you have.

Answer 3

The lack of SVG support in IE 6-7-8 can be mitigated with plugins such as Adobe SVG Viewer, Batik (works as an applet) and SVGWeb (Flash-based plugin). ItsNat Java web infrastructure combines all of them (and, of course, the native SVG), SVG code can be added to your pages embedded in HTML or blank SVG pages (using iframe / object / embed / applet in your HTML).

Take a look at the examples here and here (see child nodes). Note: since the error in the batik applet supports SVG events, it does not work (fixed in version 1.1)