2004.04.26 13:16 "Re: [Tiff] Large TIFF files: explicitly different format", by Joris Van Damme

This is more in the nature of "thinking out loud" then a carefully reasoned piece of advocacy.

I think it's a very nice piece of advocacy!

I just don't understand anymore what the word 'compatibility' actually means...

IF the formats were logically similar AND THEREFORE support for big TIFF was smooth, easy, and fast at the developer level. The typical end-user might see a new "use Big TIFF format never/when needed/always" checkbox appear in their software long before they needed to use it.

You're advocating

• logical extension of 32bit to 64bit
• of course leading to two different formats, in this regard
• but still holding on to logical structure, logic of reading/writing, tag values and meanings, etc...

Is that right?

This is what I would call the *most compatible* option. It is certainly the minimum code change option, minimum logic change option, and minimum spec change option. All TIFF corner stones are perfectly untouched. Implementing this 64bit support in LibTiff is relatively easy. It leaves the choice of writing 32bit or 64bit TIFF to the higher level. It is exactly what I advocated all along as *most compatible* option, while you seem to view it as fundamentally incompatible, and I can see there's logic to that too...

Joris Van Damme
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