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GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT(sm) Version 89a (c)1987,1988,1989,1990 Copyright CompuServe Incorporated Columbus, Ohio

Cover sheet

Table of Contents

Disclaimer
Foreword
Licensing
About the Document
General Description
Version Numbers
The Encoder
The Decoder
Compliance
About Recommendations
About Color Tables
Blocks, Extensions and Scope
Block Sizes
Using GIF as an embedded protocol
Data Sub-blocks
Block Terminator
Header
Logical Screen Descriptor
Global Color Table
Image Descriptor
Local Color Table
Table Based Image Data
Graphic Control Extension
Comment Extension
Plain Text Extension
Application Extension
Trailer
Quick Reference Table
GIF Grammar
Glossary
Conventions
Interlaced Images
Variable-Length-Code LZW Compression
On-line Capabilities Dialogue

1. Disclaimer.

The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In no event will CompuServe Incorporated be liable for damages, including any loss of revenue, loss of profits or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the information; CompuServe Incorporated makes no claim as to the suitability of the information.

2. Foreword.

This document defines the Graphics Interchange Format(sm). The specification given here defines version 89a, which is an extension of version 87a.

The Graphics Interchange Format(sm) as specified here should be considered complete; any deviation from it should be considered invalid, including but not limited to, the use of reserved or undefined fields within control or data blocks, the inclusion of extraneous data within or between blocks, the use of methods or algorithms not specifically listed as part of the format, etc. In general, any and all deviations, extensions or modifications not specified in this document should be considered to be in violation of the format and should be avoided.

3. Licensing.

The Graphics Interchange Format(c) is the copyright property of CompuServe Incorporated. Only CompuServe Incorporated is authorized to define, redefine, enhance, alter, modify or change in any way the definition of the format.

CompuServe Incorporated hereby grants a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license for the use of the Graphics Interchange Format(sm) in computer software; computer software utilizing GIF(sm) must acknowledge ownership of the Graphics Interchange Format and its Service Mark by CompuServe Incorporated, in User and Technical Documentation. Computer software utilizing GIF, which is distributed or may be distributed without User or Technical Documentation must display to the screen or printer a message acknowledging ownership of the Graphics Interchange Format and the Service Mark by CompuServe Incorporated; in this case, the acknowledgement may be displayed in an opening screen or leading banner, or a closing screen or trailing banner. A message such as the following may be used: 

      "The Graphics Interchange Format(c) is the Copyright property of
      CompuServe Incorporated. GIF(sm) is a Service Mark property of
      CompuServe Incorporated."

For further information, please contact : 

      CompuServe Incorporated
      Graphics Technology Department
      5000 Arlington Center Boulevard
      Columbus, Ohio  43220
      U. S. A.

CompuServe Incorporated maintains a mailing list with all those individuals and organizations who wish to receive copies of this document when it is corrected or revised. This service is offered free of charge; please provide us with your mailing address.

4. About the Document.

This document describes in detail the definition of the Graphics Interchange Format. This document is intended as a programming reference; it is recommended that the entire document be read carefully before programming, because of the interdependence of the various parts. There is an individual section for each of the Format blocks. Within each section, the sub-section labeled Required Version refers to the version number that an encoder will have to use if the corresponding block is used in the Data Stream. Within each section, a diagram describes the individual fields in the block; the diagrams are drawn vertically; top bytes in the diagram appear first in the Data Stream. Bits within a byte are drawn most significant on the left end. Multi-byte numeric fields are ordered Least Significant Byte first. Numeric constants are represented as Hexadecimal numbers, preceded by "0x". Bit fields within a byte are described in order from most significant bits to least significant bits.

5. General Description.

The Graphics Interchange Format(sm) defines a protocol intended for the on-line transmission and interchange of raster graphic data in a way that is independent of the hardware used in their creation or display.

The Graphics Interchange Format is defined in terms of blocks and sub-blocks which contain relevant parameters and data used in the reproduction of a graphic. A GIF Data Stream is a sequence of protocol blocks and sub-blocks representing a collection of graphics. In general, the graphics in a Data Stream are assumed to be related to some degree, and to share some control information; it is recommended that encoders attempt to group together related graphics in order to minimize hardware changes during processing and to minimize control information overhead. For the same reason, unrelated graphics or graphics which require resetting hardware parameters should be encoded separately to the extent possible.

A Data Stream may originate locally, as when read from a file, or it may originate remotely, as when transmitted over a data communications line. The Format is defined with the assumption that an error-free Transport Level Protocol is used for communications; the Format makes no provisions for error-detection and error-correction.

The GIF Data Stream must be interpreted in context, that is, the application program must rely on information external to the Data Stream to invoke the decoder process.

6. Version Numbers.

The version number in the Header of a Data Stream is intended to identify the minimum set of capabilities required of a decoder in order to fully process the Data Stream. An encoder should use the earliest possible version number that includes all the blocks used in the Data Stream. Within each block section in this document, there is an entry labeled Required Version which specifies the earliest version number that includes the corresponding block. The encoder should make every attempt to use the earliest version number covering all the blocks in the Data Stream; the unnecessary use of later version numbers will hinder processing by some decoders.

7. The Encoder.

The Encoder is the program used to create a GIF Data Stream. From raster data and other information, the encoder produces the necessary control and data blocks needed for reproducing the original graphics.

The encoder has the following primary responsibilities.

8. The Decoder.

The Decoder is the program used to process a GIF Data Stream. It processes the Data Stream sequentially, parsing the various blocks and sub-blocks, using the control information to set hardware and process parameters and interpreting the data to render the graphics.

The decoder has the following primary responsibilities.

9. Compliance.

An encoder or a decoder is said to comply with a given version of the Graphics Interchange Format if and only if it fully conforms with and correctly implements the definition of the standard associated with that version. An encoder or a decoder may be compliant with a given version number and not compliant with some subsequent version.

10. About Recommendations.

Each block section in this document contains an entry labeled Recommendation; this section lists a set of recommendations intended to guide and organize the use of the particular blocks. Such recommendations are geared towards making the functions of encoders and decoders more efficient, as well as making optimal use of the communications bandwidth. It is advised that these recommendations be followed.

11. About Color Tables.

The GIF format utilizes color tables to render raster-based graphics. A color table can have one of two different scopes: global or local. A Global Color Table is used by all those graphics in the Data Stream which do not have a Local Color Table associated with them. The scope of the Global Color Table is the entire Data Stream. A Local Color Table is always associated with the graphic that immediately follows it; the scope of a Local Color Table is limited to that single graphic. A Local Color Table supersedes a Global Color Table, that is, if a Data Stream contains a Global Color Table, and an image has a Local Color Table associated with it, the decoder must save the Global Color Table, use the Local Color Table to render the image, and then restore the Global Color Table. Both types of color tables are optional, making it possible for a Data Stream to contain numerous graphics without a color table at all. For this reason, it is recommended that the decoder save the last Global Color Table used until another Global Color Table is encountered. In this way, a Data Stream which does not contain either a Global Color Table or a Local Color Table may be processed using the last Global Color Table saved. If a Global Color Table from a previous Stream is used, that table becomes the Global Color Table of the present Stream. This is intended to reduce the overhead incurred by color tables. In particular, it is recommended that an encoder use only one Global Color Table if all the images in related Data Streams can be rendered with the same table. If no color table is available at all, the decoder is free to use a system color table or a table of its own. In that case, the decoder may use a color table with as many colors as its hardware is able to support; it is recommended that such a table have black and white as its first two entries, so that monochrome images can be rendered adequately.

The Definition of the GIF Format allows for a Data Stream to contain only the Header, the Logical Screen Descriptor, a Global Color Table and the GIF Trailer. Such a Data Stream would be used to load a decoder with a Global Color Table, in preparation for subsequent Data Streams without a color table at all.

12. Blocks, Extensions and Scope.

Blocks can be classified into three groups : Control, Graphic-Rendering and Special Purpose. Control blocks, such as the Header, the Logical Screen Descriptor, the Graphic Control Extension and the Trailer, contain information used to control the process of the Data Stream or information used in setting hardware parameters. Graphic-Rendering blocks such as the Image Descriptor and the Plain Text Extension contain information and data used to render a graphic on the display device. Special Purpose blocks such as the Comment Extension and the Application Extension are neither used to control the process of the Data Stream nor do they contain information or data used to render a graphic on the display device. With the exception of the Logical Screen Descriptor and the Global Color Table, whose scope is the entire Data Stream, all other Control blocks have a limited scope, restricted to the Graphic-Rendering block that follows them. Special Purpose blocks do not delimit the scope of any Control blocks; Special Purpose blocks are transparent to the decoding process. Graphic-Rendering blocks and extensions are used as scope delimiters for Control blocks and extensions. The labels used to identify labeled blocks fall into three ranges : 0x00-0x7F (0-127) are the Graphic Rendering blocks, excluding the Trailer (0x3B); 0x80-0xF9 (128-249) are the Control blocks; 0xFA-0xFF (250-255) are the Special Purpose blocks. These ranges are defined so that decoders can handle block scope by appropriately identifying block labels, even when the block itself cannot be processed.

13. Block Sizes.

The Block Size field in a block, counts the number of bytes remaining in the block, not counting the Block Size field itself, and not counting the Block Terminator, if one is to follow. Blocks other than Data Blocks are intended to be of fixed length; the Block Size field is provided in order to facilitate skipping them, not to allow their size to change in the future. Data blocks and sub-blocks are of variable length to accommodate the amount of data.

14. Using GIF as an embedded protocol.

As an embedded protocol, GIF may be part of larger application protocols, within which GIF is used to render graphics. In such a case, the application protocol could define a block within which the GIF Data Stream would be contained. The application program would then invoke a GIF decoder upon encountering a block of type GIF. This approach is recommended in favor of using Application Extensions, which become overhead for all other applications that do not process them. Because a GIF Data Stream must be processed in context, the application must rely on some means of identifying the GIF Data Stream outside of the Stream itself.

15. Data Sub-blocks.

16. Block Terminator.

17. Header.

18. Logical Screen Descriptor.

19. Global Color Table.

20. Image Descriptor.

21. Local Color Table.

22. Table Based Image Data.

23. Graphic Control Extension.

24. Comment Extension.

25. Plain Text Extension.

26. Application Extension.

27. Trailer.

Appendix A. Quick Reference Table. 

Block Name                  Required   Label       Ext.   Vers.
Application Extension       Opt. (*)   0xFF (255)  yes    89a
Comment Extension           Opt. (*)   0xFE (254)  yes    89a
Global Color Table          Opt. (1)   none        no     87a
Graphic Control Extension   Opt. (*)   0xF9 (249)  yes    89a
Header                      Req. (1)   none        no     N/A
Image Descriptor            Opt. (*)   0x2C (044)  no     87a (89a)
Local Color Table           Opt. (*)   none        no     87a
Logical Screen Descriptor   Req. (1)   none        no     87a (89a)
Plain Text Extension        Opt. (*)   0x01 (001)  yes    89a
Trailer                     Req. (1)   0x3B (059)  no     87a

Unlabeled Blocks 

Header                      Req. (1)   none        no     N/A
Logical Screen Descriptor   Req. (1)   none        no     87a (89a)
Global Color Table          Opt. (1)   none        no     87a
Local Color Table           Opt. (*)   none        no     87a

Graphic-Rendering Blocks 

Plain Text Extension        Opt. (*)   0x01 (001)  yes    89a
Image Descriptor            Opt. (*)   0x2C (044)  no     87a (89a)

Control Blocks 

Graphic Control Extension   Opt. (*)   0xF9 (249)  yes    89a

Special Purpose Blocks 

Trailer                     Req. (1)   0x3B (059)  no     87a
Comment Extension           Opt. (*)   0xFE (254)  yes    89a
Application Extension       Opt. (*)   0xFF (255)  yes    89a

legend:           (1)   if present, at most one occurrence
                  (*)   zero or more occurrences
                  (+)   one or more occurrences

Notes : The Header is not subject to Version Numbers. (89a) The Logical Screen Descriptor and the Image Descriptor retained their syntax from version 87a to version 89a, but some fields reserved under version 87a are used under version 89a.

Appendix B. GIF Grammar.

A Grammar is a form of notation to represent the sequence in which certain objects form larger objects. A grammar is also used to represent the number of objects that can occur at a given position. The grammar given here represents the sequence of blocks that form the GIF Data Stream. A grammar is given by listing its rules. Each rule consists of the left-hand side, followed by some form of equals sign, followed by the right-hand side. In a rule, the right-hand side describes how the left-hand side is defined. The right-hand side consists of a sequence of entities, with the possible presence of special symbols. The following legend defines the symbols used in this grammar for GIF. 

Legend:           <>    grammar word
                  ::=   defines symbol
                  *     zero or more occurrences
                  +     one or more occurrences
                  |     alternate element
                  []    optional element

Example:

<GIF Data Stream> ::= Header <Logical Screen> <Data>* Trailer

This rule defines the entity <GIF Data Stream> as follows. It must begin with a Header. The Header is followed by an entity called Logical Screen, which is defined below by another rule. The Logical Screen is followed by the entity Data, which is also defined below by another rule. Finally, the entity Data is followed by the Trailer. Since there is no rule defining the Header or the Trailer, this means that these blocks are defined in the document. The entity Data has a special symbol (*) following it which means that, at this position, the entity Data may be repeated any number of times, including 0 times. For further reading on this subject, refer to a standard text on Programming Languages.

The Grammar. 

<GIF-Data-Stream> ::=     Header <Logical-Screen> <Data>* Trailer

<Logical-Screen> ::=      Logical Screen Descriptor [Global Color Table]

<Data> ::=                <Graphic-Block>  |
                          <Special-Purpose-Block>

<Graphic-Block> ::=       [Graphic Control Extension] <Graphic-Rendering Block>

<Graphic-Rendering Block> ::=  <Table-Based Image>  |
                               Plain Text Extension

<Table-Based Image> ::=   Image Descriptor [Local Color Table] Image Data

<Special-Purpose-Block> ::=    Application Extension  |
                               Comment Extension

NOTE : The grammar indicates that it is possible for a GIF Data Stream to contain the Header, the Logical Screen Descriptor, a Global Color Table and the GIF Trailer. This special case is used to load a GIF decoder with a Global Color Table, in preparation for subsequent Data Streams without color tables at all.

Appendix C. Glossary.

Active Color Table - Color table used to render the next graphic. If the next graphic is an image which has a Local Color Table associated with it, the active color table becomes the Local Color Table associated with that image. If the next graphic is an image without a Local Color Table, or a Plain Text Extension, the active color table is the Global Color Table associated with the Data Stream, if there is one; if there is no Global Color Table in the Data Stream, the active color table is a color table saved from a previous Data Stream, or one supplied by the decoder.

Block - Collection of bytes forming a protocol unit. In general, the term includes labeled and unlabeled blocks, as well as Extensions.

Data Stream - The GIF Data Stream is composed of blocks and sub-blocks representing images and graphics, together with control information to render them on a display device. All control and data blocks in the Data Stream must follow the Header and must precede the Trailer.

Decoder - A program capable of processing a GIF Data Stream to render the images and graphics contained in it.

Encoder - A program capable of capturing and formatting image and graphic raster data, following the definitions of the Graphics Interchange Format.

Extension - A protocol block labeled by the Extension Introducer 0x21.

Extension Introducer - Label (0x21) defining an Extension.

Graphic - Data which can be rendered on the screen by virtue of some algorithm. The term graphic is more general than the term image; in addition to images, the term graphic also includes data such as text, which is rendered using character bit-maps.

Image - Data representing a picture or a drawing; an image is represented by an array of pixels called the raster of the image.

Raster - Array of pixel values representing an image.

Appendix D. Conventions.

Animation - The Graphics Interchange Format is not intended as a platform for animation, even though it can be done in a limited way.

Byte Ordering - Unless otherwise stated, multi-byte numeric fields are ordered with the Least Significant Byte first.

Color Indices - Color indices always refer to the active color table, either the Global Color Table or the Local Color Table.

Color Order - Unless otherwise stated, all triple-component RGB color values are specified in Red-Green-Blue order.

Color Tables - Both color tables, the Global and the Local, are optional; if present, the Global Color Table is to be used with every image in the Data Stream for which a Local Color Table is not given; if present, a Local Color Table overrides the Global Color Table. However, if neither color table is present, the application program is free to use an arbitrary color table. If the graphics in several Data Streams are related and all use the same color table, an encoder could place the color table as the Global Color Table in the first Data Stream and leave subsequent Data Streams without a Global Color Table or any Local Color Tables; in this way, the overhead for the table is eliminated. It is recommended that the decoder save the previous Global Color Table to be used with the Data Stream that follows, in case it does not contain either a Global Color Table or any Local Color Tables. In general, this allows the application program to use past color tables, significantly reducing transmission overhead.

Extension Blocks - Extensions are defined using the Extension Introducer code to mark the beginning of the block, followed by a block label, identifying the type of extension. Extension Codes are numbers in the range from 0x00 to 0xFF, inclusive. Special purpose extensions are transparent to the decoder and may be omitted when transmitting the Data Stream on-line. The GIF capabilities dialogue makes the provision for the receiver to request the transmission of all blocks; the default state in this regard is no transmission of Special purpose blocks.

Reserved Fields - All Reserved Fields are expected to have each bit set to zero (off).

Appendix E. Interlaced Images.

The rows of an Interlaced images are arranged in the following order:

Group 1 : Every 8th. row, starting with row 0. (Pass 1)
Group 2 : Every 8th. row, starting with row 4. (Pass 2)
Group 3 : Every 4th. row, starting with row 2. (Pass 3)
Group 4 : Every 2nd. row, starting with row 1. (Pass 4)

The Following example illustrates how the rows of an interlaced image are ordered. 

      Row Number                                        Interlace Pass

 0    -----------------------------------------       1
 1    -----------------------------------------                         4
 2    -----------------------------------------                   3
 3    -----------------------------------------                         4
 4    -----------------------------------------             2
 5    -----------------------------------------                         4
 6    -----------------------------------------                   3
 7    -----------------------------------------                         4
 8    -----------------------------------------       1
 9    -----------------------------------------                         4
 10   -----------------------------------------                   3
 11   -----------------------------------------                         4
 12   -----------------------------------------             2
 13   -----------------------------------------                         4
 14   -----------------------------------------                   3
 15   -----------------------------------------                         4
 16   -----------------------------------------       1
 17   -----------------------------------------                         4
 18   -----------------------------------------                   3
 19   -----------------------------------------                         4

Appendix F. Variable-Length-Code LZW Compression.

The Variable-Length-Code LZW Compression is a variation of the Lempel-Ziv Compression algorithm in which variable-length codes are used to replace patterns detected in the original data. The algorithm uses a code or translation table constructed from the patterns encountered in the original data; each new pattern is entered into the table and its index is used to replace it in the compressed stream.

The compressor takes the data from the input stream and builds a code or translation table with the patterns as it encounters them; each new pattern is entered into the code table and its index is added to the output stream; when a pattern is encountered which had been detected since the last code table refresh, its index from the code table is put on the output stream, thus achieving the data compression. The expander takes input from the compressed data stream and builds the code or translation table from it; as the compressed data stream is processed, codes are used to index into the code table and the corresponding data is put on the decompressed output stream, thus achieving data decompression. The details of the algorithm are explained below. The Variable-Length-Code aspect of the algorithm is based on an initial code size (LZW-initial code size), which specifies the initial number of bits used for the compression codes. When the number of patterns detected by the compressor in the input stream exceeds the number of patterns encodable with the current number of bits, the number of bits per LZW code is increased by one.

The Raster Data stream that represents the actual output image can be represented as: 

         7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
        +---------------+
        | LZW code size |
        +---------------+

        +---------------+ ----+
        |  block size   |     |
        +---------------+     |
        |               |     +-- Repeated as many
        |  data bytes   |     |   times as necessary.
        |               |     |
        +---------------+ ----+

        . . .       . . . ------- The code that terminates the LZW
                                  compressed data must appear before
                                  Block Terminator.
        +---------------+
        |0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0|  Block Terminator
        +---------------+

The conversion of the image from a series of pixel values to a transmitted or stored character stream involves several steps. In brief these steps are:

1. Establish the Code Size - Define the number of bits needed to represent the actual data.

2. Compress the Data - Compress the series of image pixels to a series of compression codes.

3. Build a Series of Bytes - Take the set of compression codes and convert to a string of 8-bit bytes.

4. Package the Bytes - Package sets of bytes into blocks preceded by character counts and output.

ESTABLISH CODE SIZE

The first byte of the Compressed Data stream is a value indicating the minimum number of bits required to represent the set of actual pixel values. Normally this will be the same as the number of color bits. Because of some algorithmic constraints however, black & white images which have one color bit must be indicated as having a code size of 2. This code size value also implies that the compression codes must start out one bit longer.

COMPRESSION

The LZW algorithm converts a series of data values into a series of codes which may be raw values or a code designating a series of values. Using text characters as an analogy, the output code consists of a character or a code representing a string of characters.

The LZW algorithm used in GIF matches algorithmically with the standard LZW algorithm with the following differences:

1. A special Clear code is defined which resets all compression/decompression parameters and tables to a start-up state. The value of this code is 2**<code size>. For example if the code size indicated was 4 (image was 4 bits/pixel) the Clear code value would be 16 (10000 binary). The Clear code can appear at any point in the image data stream and therefore requires the LZW algorithm to process succeeding codes as if a new data stream was starting. Encoders should output a Clear code as the first code of each image data stream.

2. An End of Information code is defined that explicitly indicates the end of the image data stream. LZW processing terminates when this code is encountered. It must be the last code output by the encoder for an image. The value of this code is <Clear code>+1.

3. The first available compression code value is <Clear code>+2.

4. The output codes are of variable length, starting at <code size>+1 bits per code, up to 12 bits per code. This defines a maximum code value of 4095 (0xFFF). Whenever the LZW code value would exceed the current code length, the code length is increased by one. The packing/unpacking of these codes must then be altered to reflect the new code length.

BUILD 8-BIT BYTES

Because the LZW compression used for GIF creates a series of variable length codes, of between 3 and 12 bits each, these codes must be reformed into a series of 8-bit bytes that will be the characters actually stored or transmitted. This provides additional compression of the image. The codes are formed into a stream of bits as if they were packed right to left and then picked off 8 bits at a time to be output.

Assuming a character array of 8 bits per character and using 5 bit codes to be packed, an example layout would be similar to: 

     +---------------+
  0  |               |    bbbaaaaa
     +---------------+
  1  |               |    dcccccbb
     +---------------+
  2  |               |    eeeedddd
     +---------------+
  3  |               |    ggfffffe
     +---------------+
  4  |               |    hhhhhggg
     +---------------+
           . . .
     +---------------+
  N  |               |
     +---------------+

Note that the physical packing arrangement will change as the number of bits per compression code change but the concept remains the same.

PACKAGE THE BYTES

Once the bytes have been created, they are grouped into blocks for output by preceding each block of 0 to 255 bytes with a character count byte. A block with a zero byte count terminates the Raster Data stream for a given image. These blocks are what are actually output for the GIF image. This block format has the side effect of allowing a decoding program the ability to read past the actual image data if necessary by reading block counts and then skipping over the data.

FURTHER READING

[1] Ziv, J. and Lempel, A. : "A Universal Algorithm for Sequential Data Compression", IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, May 1977. [2] Welch, T. : "A Technique for High-Performance Data Compression", Computer, June 1984. [3] Nelson, M.R. : "LZW Data Compression", Dr. Dobb's Journal, October 1989.

Appendix G. On-line Capabilities Dialogue.

NOTE : This section is currently (10 July 1990) under revision; the information provided here should be used as general guidelines. Code written based on this information should be designed in a flexible way to accommodate any changes resulting from the revisions.

The following sequences are defined for use in mediating control between a GIF sender and GIF receiver over an interactive communications line. These sequences do not apply to applications that involve downloading of static GIF files and are not considered part of a GIF file.

GIF CAPABILITIES ENQUIRY

The GIF Capabilities Enquiry sequence is issued from a host and requests an interactive GIF decoder to return a response message that defines the graphics parameters for the decoder. This involves returning information about available screen sizes, number of bits/color supported and the amount of color detail supported. The escape sequence for the GIF Capabilities Enquiry is defined as: 

ESC[>0g           0x1B 0x5B 0x3E 0x30 0x67

GIF CAPABILITIES RESPONSE

The GIF Capabilities Response message is returned by an interactive GIF decoder and defines the decoder's display capabilities for all graphics modes that are supported by the software. Note that this can also include graphics printers as well as a monitor screen. The general format of this message is:

#version;protocol{;dev, width, height, color-bits, color-res}...<CR> 

'#'            GIF Capabilities Response identifier character.
version        GIF format version number;  initially '87a'.
protocol='0'   No end-to-end protocol supported by decoder Transfer as direct
               8-bit data stream.
protocol='1'   Can use CIS B+ error correction protocol to transfer GIF data
               interactively from the host directly to the display.
dev = '0'      Screen parameter set follows.
dev = '1'      Printer parameter set follows.
width          Maximum supported display width in pixels.
height         Maximum supported display height in pixels.
color-bits     Number of bits per pixel supported. The number of supported
               colors is therefore 2**color-bits.
color-res      Number of bits per color component supported in the hardware
               color palette. If color-res is '0' then no hardware palette
               table is available.

Note that all values in the GIF Capabilities Response are returned as ASCII decimal numbers and the message is terminated by a Carriage Return character.

The following GIF Capabilities Response message describes three standard IBM PC Enhanced Graphics Adapter configurations with no printer; the GIF data stream

can be processed within an error correcting protocol:

#87a;1;0,320,200,4,0;0,640,200,2,2;0,640,350,4,2<CR>

ENTER GIF GRAPHICS MODE

Two sequences are currently defined to invoke an interactive GIF decoder into action. The only difference between them is that different output media are selected. These sequences are: 

ESC[>1g     Display GIF image on screen

                  0x1B 0x5B 0x3E 0x31 0x67

ESC[>2g   Display image directly to an attached graphics printer. The image may
optionally be displayed on the screen as well.


                  0x1B 0x5B 0x3E 0x32 0x67

Note that the 'g' character terminating each sequence is in lowercase.

INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENT

The assumed environment for the transmission of GIF image data from an interactive application is a full 8-bit data stream from host to micro. All 256 character codes must be transferrable. The establishing of an 8-bit data path for communications will normally be taken care of by the host application programs. It is however up to the receiving communications programs supporting GIF to be able to receive and pass on all 256 8-bit codes to the GIF decoder software. 

    Cover Sheet for the GIF89a Specification


    DEFERRED CLEAR CODE IN LZW COMPRESSION

    There has been confusion about where clear codes can be found in the
    data stream.  As the specification says, they may appear at anytime.  There
    is not a requirement to send a clear code when the string table is full.

    It is the encoder's decision as to when the table should be cleared.  When
    the table is full, the encoder can chose to use the table as is, making no
    changes to it until the encoder chooses to clear it.  The encoder during
    this time sends out codes that are of the maximum Code Size.

    As we can see from the above, when the decoder's table is full, it must
    not change the table until a clear code is received.  The Code Size is that
    of the maximum Code Size.  Processing other than this is done normally.

    Because of a large base of decoders that do not handle the decompression in
    this manner, we ask developers of GIF encoding software to NOT implement
    this feature until at least January 1991 and later if they see that their
    particular market is not ready for it.  This will give developers of GIF
    decoding software time to implement this feature and to get it into the
    hands of their clients before the decoders start "breaking" on the new
    GIF's.  It is not required that encoders change their software to take
    advantage of the deferred clear code, but it is for decoders.

    APPLICATION EXTENSION BLOCK - APPLICATION IDENTIFIER

    There will be a Courtesy Directory file located on CompuServe in the PICS
    forum.  This directory will contain Application Identifiers for Application
    Extension Blocks that have been used by developers of GIF applications.
    This file is intended to help keep developers that wish to create
    Application Extension Blocks from using the same Application Identifiers.
    This is not an official directory; it is for voluntary participation only
    and does not guarantee that someone will not use the same identifier.

    E-Mail can be sent to Larry Wood (forum manager of PICS) indicating the
    request for inclusion in this file with an identifier.

See also:

Questions:

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