CGM Open Enables Browsers to Use Web Graphics Standards
Boston, MA USA; January 3, 2001-- CGM Open, the OASIS-affiliated global consortium
dedicated to standardized graphical information exchange, announced the release
of a Browser Helper Object (BHO) that enables browsers such as Microsoft Internet
Explorer to effectively use the WebCGM Web graphics standards. Designed in collaboration
with Microsoft, the CGM Open BHO is an add-on software component that allows object-to-object
linking of graphics in Web content.
"Microsoft is pleased to have supported CGM Open in its effort to deliver support
for W3C recommendations to the Web community" explained Pablo Fernicola, Lead
Program Manager for Internet Explorer, Microsoft Corporation. "The CGM Open
BHO solution leverages the services provided by the Internet Explorer platform to
enable object-level addressing and linking in graphics content."
"Object-to-object linking is critical to the useful integration of graphics
on the Web," explained Lofton Henderson, Program Director of CGM Open. The
BHO is a prime example of the contributions CGM Open provides for the Internet community.
The Consortium's role as a vendor-neutral resource makes this accomplishment possible.
No single Web graphics provider could have developed this solution alone."
CGM Open provides the Browser Helper Object as a public service to the community.
Implementers may find more information and may request distribution of the BHO at
http://www.cgmopen.org.
Although the CGM Open BHO was designed specifically for WebCGM access, the solution
can also be adapted for SVG, the Scalable Vector Graphics format, currently under
development by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). According to Henderson, "CGM
Open considers WebCGM and SVG as complementary standards optimized for solving different
Web vector graphics requirements. We trust that the CGM Open BHO can be leveraged
by the SVG community to facilitate successful SVG products."
About WebCGM
WebCGM is an application of the ISO-standard Computer Graphics Metafile for electronic
documents. WebCGM was developed by CGM Open, in collaboration with the W3C, with
support from the European Commission Esprit project. An "intelligent graphics"
profile, WebCGM includes both graphical and non-graphical content, allowing object
hierarchies, link specifications and layer definitions.
About CGM Open
CGM Open is an international organization of vendors and users dedicated to open
and interoperable standards for the exchange of graphical information. CGM Open
is an affiliate member of OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium. The work of
CGM Open complements that of standards bodies, focusing on making Web graphics standards
easy to adopt and practical to use in real world, open systems applications.
|