Introduction to GIFs

Question 1

What does the term ‘GIF’ stand for, and who introduced it?

Answer 1

GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It was introduced by CompuServe in 1987.

Question 2

What type of content is a GIF best optimized for?

Answer 2

GIFs are ideal for optimizing areas of solid color and lines, such as illustrations, logos, cartoons, line art, and text.

Question 3

How many colors can a GIF support? How does this compare to JPEG?

Answer 3

A GIF supports up to 256 colors (8 bits per pixel), whereas a JPEG can support up to 16.7 million colors.