What are file formats?
File formats are the file types used to store the data in a file.
What do file formats define?
They define the structure and organisation of the data in a file and determine which software can read the contents of the file.
Why are there different file formats?
There are a variety of file formats depending on the type of file being used.
What are generic file formats?
Generic file formats are file types that are compatible and allow sharing between different devices and software programs.
What are non-generic file formats?
Non-generic file formats require special software or hardware to be accessed.
Why are generic file types needed?
• Allow exchange of data across different applications • Widely adopted → accessible by many users/devices • Can be created, edited, and accessed across many devices
What is a Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg) file?
• Commonly called JPEG • Uses lossy compression → reduces file size but loses some quality • Commonly used for storing and transmitting digital photographs
🟢 Advantages:
• Small file size
• Acceptable image quality
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Lossy compression → quality loss
What is a Portable Network Graphics (.png) file?
• Uses lossless compression → maintains high-quality images • Supports transparency for graphics on different backgrounds • Commonly used for web design, digital illustrations, logos, and icons
🟢 Advantages:
• High image quality
• Transparency support
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Larger file size than JPEG
What is a Graphics Interchange Format (.gif) file?
• Used for short animated images and simple graphics • Uses lossless compression • Maintains quality while keeping file size small • Popular on social media, messaging apps, and websites
🟢 Advantages:
• Supports animation
• Small file size
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Limited to simple graphics → not for photographs
What is a Moving Pictures Experts Group Layer 4 (.mp4) file?
• Multimedia container storing video, audio, and images • Uses advanced compression → high-quality playback with small file size • Popular for streaming and transferring videos online
🟢 Advantages:
• High-quality video
• Small file size
• Widely compatible
What is a QuickTime Movie (.mov) file?
• Developed by Apple • Stores video, audio, and other media • Maintains excellent image quality with smaller file size • Used in professional video editing, film production, and multimedia projects
🟢 Advantages:
• Excellent image quality
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Less compatible than MP4
What is a Moving Pictures Experts Group Layer 3 (.mp3) file?
• Popular audio format • Reduces file size with minimal loss of sound quality • Standard for digital music distribution • Compatible with many devices and streaming platforms
🟢 Advantages:
• Small file size
• Widely compatible
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Slight quality loss
What is a Waveform Audio File Format (.wav) file?
• Uncompressed audio file format → high lossless quality • Preserves original audio waveform • Used in music industry, broadcast, and multimedia production
🟢 Advantages:
• Very high quality
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Large file size
What is a Text (.txt) file?
• Stores plain text only • No formatting • Can be opened and edited in any text editor or word processor
🟢 Advantages:
• Simple, small file size
• Universally supported
🔴 Disadvantages:
• No formatting
What is a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file?
• Stores formatted text → fonts, colours, bold, italics • Can be opened by many text editors and word processors • Used for letters, reports, academic papers
🟢 Advantages:
• Supports formatting
• Widely compatible
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Larger than TXT
What is a Comma Separated Values (.csv) file?
• Stores structured data in rows and columns separated by commas • Widely supported, easy to import/export • Opened and edited using spreadsheet software
🟢 Advantages:
• Simple structure
• Easy to transfer between programs
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Plain text → no formatting
What is a Portable Document Format (.pdf) file?
• Maintains layout and formatting across platforms • Can include text, images, graphics, and interactive elements • Supports password protection and digital signatures
🟢 Advantages:
• Keeps formatting consistent
• Secure
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Difficult to edit
What is a Zip (.zip) file?
• Compression container • Stores multiple files/folders in one smaller archive • Uses lossless compression
🟢 Advantages:
• Saves storage space
• Combines multiple files
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Must be unzipped before use
What is a Roshal Archive (.rar) file?
• Compression container using a proprietary algorithm • Higher compression than ZIP • Commonly used for sharing files or saving space
🟢 Advantages:
• High compression ratio
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Requires special software to open
What is a Hypertext Markup Language (.html) file?
• Used to create and structure web pages • Contains text-based code defining structure, layout, and content • Rendered by web browsers across many devices
🟢 Advantages:
• Can create interactive and structured web content
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Cannot style content alone → needs CSS
What is a Cascading Style Sheets (.css) file?
• Attached to HTML documents • Controls styling → colours, fonts, layout, and positioning • Used for responsive and attractive web page designs
🟢 Advantages:
• Makes web pages visually appealing
• Separates design from content
🔴 Disadvantages:
• Only controls style, not content
Difference between Text (.txt) and Rich Text Format (.rtf) files
• RTF supports basic formatting (bold, underline, italics); TXT does not • RTF can do paragraph formatting
