2004.04.23 13:16 "Re: [Tiff] Large TIFF files", by Phillip Crews

We don't have to start over - but we have learned some things since the original TIFF spec. was written.

I think that it's important that any new large file support remain as close to the old spec as possible, so as to minimise the work needed for application support. Most important is that any file which does not in fact exceed 2GB must be readable by old code.

Once you open the box and start making improvements which aren't backward compatible, it's necessary to ask whether TIFF is the right starting point, rather than some other image format.

I think they should be considered a separate file type, with a separate signature. The organization of the library may be a difficult decision: choosing whether the library automatically creates a BTIFF when the data exceeds 2 or 4 Gb and automatically recognizes TIFF vs BTIFF, or whether a separate (but quite similar) API is used.