GIF Meaning - what's behind the abbreviation

When you're on the Internet, you come across more and more so-called GIFs. These are usually short, soundless animations that usually repeat themselves. GIFs have a specific file format. This is mainly used to send animations or upload them to websites.

This meaning is behind GIF

The abbreviation GIF is a Graphics Interchange Format. This file format is primarily used to send or upload graphics. Nowadays, a GIF usually consists of several images that form an animation.

1. The format was introduced in 1987 and developed by Steve Wilhite.
2. A GIF can display a maximum of 256 colors and is usually without sound.
3. In principle, you can convert any common video and image format into a GIF.
4. When converting the format, however, color information can be lost. In general, however, the format allows lossless compression of images. By compressing the file, they require less storage space and are therefore also easier to send.
5. GIFs are often used to create entertaining animations. Diese werden anschließend auf verschiedene Plattformen im Internet hochgeladen oder über einen Messenger mit Bekannten geteilt.
6. Ein GIF-Bild kann maximal eine Größe von 65.535 × 65.535 Pixeln besitzen.
7. Viele Social-Media-Plattformen unterstützen das Format, wodurch die Verbreitung noch einfach geworden ist.