Forgeot Eric wrote:
>
> I don't really agree, even if you're right in some extends :
> A gif file (I mean a partition) that looks cool on a browser with
> 16 colours is ci. 9 ko. The same in ps is 29 ko, but converted in
> pdf it's only 11 ko (I've tried for a small tune).
Well, yes and no, Eric. The difference in size between a gif and a pdf
file isn't nealy as big as some people belive, but there is a difference.
Ghostview seems to create fairly large gifs. The equivalent
BarFly/Graphic Converter output is only half the size. A Musica Viva
style GIF would be even smaller.
As for Postscript files - it's not unusual for a file created by one
application to be four or five times as large as a similar file created
by a different application. This difference is mostly, but not
completely, evened out when the file is converted to pdf.
(Of course, if file size is the *only* issue, you should just post the
abc. In this particular case, you only need 806 bytes for that.)
-------
My site, Musica Viva, includes more than 500 PDFs and a few thousand
ABCs, but GIF is still the main format for sheet music on the site.
There are a number of reasons for this:
a) Old habit - When I started the site, PDF simply wasn't a serious alternative.
b) File size - The difference between a single PDF and a single GIF
might not be
so big, but how about 8000+ of them? I already use more than 200 of
the 50 MBs
I have available, so I have to be very careful to make evetyrhing
as compact
as possible.
c) Viewable on any browser - I happen to be a firm supporter of the anybrowser
campaign ( http://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/ ). GIF is by far the format
that comes closest to that ideal.
d) Viewable on any computer - Ever tried to open a really big PDF file
on a
old computer?
e) Flexibility - Unlike PDFs, GIFs can be embedded in a html page,
opening up
a large nuber of options (to many to list here).
f) Reliability - GIFs are far more rugged than PDFs. I don't have to
worry about
broken files, and I don't have to worry about people being unable
to read
the file because of some stupid software incompaibility.
g) Speed - GIFs load faster than PDFs even if they're the same size.
h) No plug-ins required - Let's face it, there are lots of computers
that don't
have Acrobat Reader installed. There are lots of users who have no idea
what to do about it. There even are lots of older computers that simply
don't have enough muscle to run such a heavy porgram.
i) Security - The way I've set up Musica Viva makes it hard for people to
steal the content of the site.
j) It's good enough - The GIFs at Musica Viva are good enough for everyday
use. You can read the sheet music, and you can play from it. What more
do you expect for free?
k) I'm a professional - In an ideal world I would have been able to
make a
living giving people music to play, but this world is far from
ideal. That
b++++y site actually costs me a lot of money!
I give away the basics for free just because I like to think of myself
as a nice peson. But if you want more than that from me, I want to see
some cash from you. If you *demand* more than that, you've got a serious
attitude problem.
Frank Nordberg
http://www.musicaviva.com
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