A new PNG spec

(www.programmax.net)

614 points bluedel | 2 comments | 24 Jun 25 13:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.559s | source

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cptcobalt ◴[25 Jun 25 15:30 UTC] No.44378457[source]▶

It seems like this new PNG spec just cements what exists already, great! The best codecs are the ones that work on everything. PNG and JPEG work everywhere, reliably.

Try opening a HEIC or AV1 or something on a machine that doesn't natively support it down to the OS-level, and you're in for a bad time. This stuff needs to work everywhere—in every app, in the OS shell for quick-looking at files, in APIs, on Linux, etc. If a codec does not function at that level, it is not functional for wider use and should not be a default for any platform.

replies(2): >>44378601 #>>44378621 #

1. lazide ◴[25 Jun 25 15:44 UTC] No.44378601[source]▶

>>44378457 #

This new spec will make PNG even worse than HEIC or AV1 - you won’t know what codec is actually inside the PNG until you open it.

replies(1): >>44379156 #

2. hulitu ◴[25 Jun 25 16:33 UTC] No.44379156[source]▶

>>44378601 (TP) #

> you won’t know what codec is actually inside the PNG until you open it.

But this is a feature. Think about all those exploits made possible by this feature. Sincerely, the CIA, the MI-6, the FSB, the Mossad, etc.

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