I know there are some formats that are for raw files, but most others are compressed. Why are there so many of those?
In: Technology
File formats are, according to my understanding, simply “markers” that applications can use to understand files.
Extensions are signposts that tell applications how to approach the reading of a file.
There’s nothing special about mp4, png, or gif. It’s just that companies, businesses, governments, and regulative authorities have decided that they are a standard, and have therefore integrated it into mainstream applications and software.
You could make your own file format, and developers do it all the time. It’s just that nobody would really care, and you couldn’t expect, say, Adobe Illustrator to recognize and read your file.
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