Term: GIF [Graphics Interchange Format]

GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format – a file format used to contain images.

There is debate on whether it’s pronounced with a hard or soft “G”. Either is technically acceptable, and either may also cause disagreement.

GIF images tend to be small, in part because the format supports only 256 simultaneous colors in an image. This has the side effect of making GIFs less than ideal for photographs which typically have many more.

See also: Animated GIF.

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