2021.09.30 09:41 "Re: [Tiff] [GeoTIFF.swg] Proposal to create a OGC BigTIFF standard", by Emmanuel Devys

Leonard

We had some email exchange with Scott Foshee, mostly about registration of geospatial TIFF tags (for GeoTIFF as well as for geospatial metadata). And additional contact with Scott Simmons (OGC's Chief Standards Officer) on this topic (and I heard also on bigTIFF as well). Also some echo from Even Rouault on the fact that some Adobe technical staff were involved in the development of the bigtiff extension for the libtiff, without any further formal engagement from Adobe. (I copy Scott Simmons and Even Rouault for awareness).

I'll transfer for your information the email thread on the TIFF private tags by a separate email.

If Adobe would have an interest in bigTIFF such as contributing to its control and maintenance, this would IMHO be great. TIFF being owned by Adobe and BigTIFF being a "64-bit"ness extension of TIFF of interest for the widest communities, and not only geospatial or medical, OGC is not in principle supposed to manage bigTIFF which is not geospatial. But GeoTIFF standard being a geospatial community standard now being an OGC standard, there is a strong interest to extend it for huge imagery and therefore the usage of bigTIFF. I guess such interest is shared by several communities. In conclusion in order to allow for a widespread BigTIFF adoption, based on confidence in its validity and some authority for its maintenance / sustainability, something (such as a standardisation action) should be done. In the absence of any identified initiative (currently) the OGC submitted the proposal validated by the OGC GeoTIFF.SWG.

About my wording "Adobe claim no interest in BigTIFF", it was probably provocative (as I am aware there is some technical interest from Adobe technical staff), but up to now, this was the opinion of the OGC GeoTIFF.SWG based on the information available and past exchange.

Hoping this clarifies the context

Emmanuel