SVG and ODD are vital image formats widely applicable to web development and graphic design. Choosing an ideal file type can be difficult, considering the technical attributes offered by each file format, which call for a comprehensive understanding of SVG vs. ODD.
The article critically examines the structure, browser support, storage needs, performance, image quality, compression technique, file sizes, transparency, and animation support of ODD and SVG formats.
When is SVG better than ODD?
SVG images are smaller, consume fewer bytes, load faster online, and require less memory on storage mediums, while ODD images are multilayered, making them larger, upload slowly on websites, and necessitate more storage space.
The SVG file type is ideal for creating visually appealing, sharp, and adaptable application icons and interactive animations of varying color depths and sizes that quickly update periodically.
When is ODD better than SVG?
ODD images are universally supported by almost all web browsers and operating systems, such as Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows, while SVG images are incompatible with Internet Explorer 8, Linux, and mobile operating systems like iOS and Android.
The ODD file type is suitable for online programs and detached office applications and suites, including PowerPoint, Word Processors, and Spreadsheets.
ODD extensions are easily converted to different file formats, namely Word and PDF. They are scalable upwards or downwards while preserving image details and are free or open-source, making them cost-effective.
ODD versus SVG Table Comparison
| Element | ODD | SVG |
| Transparency | Supports transparency. | Supports transparency. |
| File Size | Larger files than SVG. | Smaller files than ODD files. |
| Image Quality | High-quality images. | High-quality images. |
| Performance | Larger and loads slower than SVG files. | Smaller and loads faster than ODD files. |
| Structure | Vector graphic: Has XML document and sub-docs. with custom, user-defined, and pre-defined metadata. | Vector graphic: Uses XML markup language and XML code identifying colors, paths, texts, and shapes. |
| Animation | Supports animations. | Supports animation. |
| Storage | Requires more storage space than SVG. | Requires less storage space than ODD. |
| Compression | Supports lossless compression. | Supports lossless compression. |
| Browser Support | Supported by all legacy and new web browsers. | Supported by almost all web browsers, except IE 8. |
Differences and similarities between SVG and ODD images
SVG and ODD file formats support animations, transparency, lossless compression, and high-quality images. As shown in the SVG versus ODD comparison table above, the two formats are dissimilar in file size, web performance, storage needs, web browser support, and structure.
Transparency
SVG and ODD file extensions support transparency. ODD supports multi-sample pixels by encrypting lossless files with alpha channel transparency data. Its XML-aware devices can show the hierarchy of transparent elements in an ODD file.
SVG files also support alpha channel transparency using the lossless technique. The .svg file extension has a 'Default' transparent background, attributes, and elements with names indicating their respective functions. The format is derived from the integrally transparent HML.
File Size
ODD files are larger than SVG files. ODD stores either a single XML document or a collection of various sub-documents. Multiple ODD files are larger than the SVG files. Nevertheless, both formats support lossless compression, preserving all file data and directories with binary contents.
Image Quality
SVG and ODD are high-quality image formats. ODD files support 8 bits per color channel, standard rendering, a wide color range, and other vector graphics, such as typography and graphic effects. SVG and ODD retain image resolution regardless of the number of resizing done.
The .svg file type has no bit depth like other bitmap image formats because it is created and stored differently using a set of commands, numbers, and formulas. All SVG image features, including curves, lines, shape, and color, are preserved during compression, resulting in high-quality images.
Performance
SVG files are smaller than ODD files, which store multiple sub-documents in an XML file and preserve all file data using lossless ZIP compression. ODD files load slower, use more bytes and incur more bandwidth costs than SVG files. Thus, use SVG to enjoy optimized search engines and a better online user experience.
Structure
SVG and ODD files are vector-based, but their different structural designs make the two formats difficult to compare. An ODD file extension can be a single XML document or a group of many sub-documents. Each ODD file package stores a unit of the entire document with a defined structure using sub-documents. ODD files have non-XML representation objects like OLE and representation objects such as drawings, text documents, presentations, formulas, spreadsheets, and charts.
Conversely, SVG files store images using mathematical formulas that define and anchor images on grid lines, shapes, curves, and points. They use the XML markup language, which defines texts, paths, colors, and shapes. The XML code is easily embedded into HTML documents or XML texts or inserted into the SVG file. Scripting languages like JavaScript interactively manipulate or animate every attribute and element within the SVG file.
Animation
SVG and ODD file extensions support animation. ODD supports animations and scenes, rendering 3D objects via specific projection and lighting. The main ODD graphical markup for drawings is on the drawing page, which has frames, forms, drawing objects, and layers.
ODD has draw-page elements in the presentation slides, like animations and related texts. SVG's markup supports and presents animations online. This is handy because of the JavaScript feature, which allows files to support animation elements and interactive images through scripting or CSS.
Storage
The ODD encrypts and stores spreadsheets, Word files, charts, and graphics in a homogenous XML-based format. However, the SVG format is written in XML code that compresses and stores text data as literal texts instead of shapes. The restricted data are paralleled in multi-layer trees of items in an SVG DOM.
When using OpenOffice and other suites, lossless ODD files use more bandwidth in CPUs and memory storage devices. Thus, lossless SVG files are smaller and need less storage space than ODD files. However, both formats store data indefinitely depending on handling procedures, conditions, and storage mediums.
ODD files can be stored in the XML file system as manifest files. The manifest file is stored under the pathname META-INF/manifest.xml and stores various information, including settings, styles, metadata, Thumbnails, and other content.
SVG stores its compressed files, defined using vector graphics formats in XML text files and HTML documents. Both formats can store data: Hard Drives, Cloud, Content Delivery Networks, File Systems, and Base64 Encoding.
Compression
SVG and ODD support lossless compression with gzip or ZIP algorithms. For ODD files, the compression process is step-wise. First, a password-protected OpenDocument file is created to retain its bundle structure. Then, the XML file contents in the package are encrypted and compressed using the DEFLATE algorithm.
In contrast, SVG assumes a multistage lossless compression or transformation in two stages. First, the SVG images are written and stored in XML text files. Second, the stored images undergo lossless compression using the gzip algorithm to ensure no image information is lost or distorted.
Browser Support
ODD and SVG are among the most versatile file formats supported across different web browser platforms and are highly compatible with various software. Legacy and modern web browsers like Edge, Firefox, Vivaldi, Discord, Chrome, Brave, Opera, Samsung Internet, and Safari support both formats.
ODD files are also compatible and supported by all versions of Internet Explorer, while SVG is unsupported by Internet Explorer 8. This makes ODD the best file format regarding wider web browser support compared SVG format.
Converting SVG to ODD or ODD to SVG
Convert SVG to ODD automatically using convertjack. ODD files are universally compatible and supported by almost all computer programs, platforms, web browsers, scalable, and open-source.
Convertjack is a reliable ODD to SVG converter because it generates smaller, high-quality, detailed, color-rich, and easily accessible SVG files. These files load faster online, demand less storage space, and enhance user experience.