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Chemical concentrations and elevation surface are some examples of raster data. Each cell has a value that represents information. In other words, it is a matrix of cells organized into rows and columns.
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– Comparison of Key Differences Key Terms Difference Between Raster and Vector Data In brief, raster data is continuous data whereas vector data is discrete data. It is possible to maintain spatial data as vector data or raster data. One data type or data structure available in GIS is spatial data. Users can visualize, and understand the relationships between geo data in forms of reports, charts, maps etc. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based tool or technology to manage, analyze and display geographically referenced information. If you still have any questions or if you have something to add, then please use the comment form below.The main difference between raster and vector data is that the raster data represents data as a cell or a grid matrix while vector data represents data using sequential points or vertices. Hope this article explains the difference between the vector and raster/bitmap graphics clearly. However, its very easy to convert a vector image to a raster image. Its impossible to capture/scan an image and convert it into a vector format without using a specialized conversion software.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RASTER AND VECTOR SOFTWARE
Vector images are basically created using software like Adobe Illustrator. However, the vector graphics technology is advancing pretty fast, and in near future we may be able to get a bitmap like appearance in vector graphic.Īll scanned images and images taken from a digital cameras are raster or bitmap images. The reason behind it is the same, vector graphics can’t display continuous variation in color. You must have noticed that most of the vector images have a cartoon like appearance. This is because vector images are made up of solid color areas and mathematical gradients, so they can’t be used to show continuous tones of a colors in a natural photograph. Unlike bitmap/raster image, Vecor images can’t be used for realistic images. However, on any other color, the difference is obvious as the bitmap circle’s white pixels are visible, thus proving its rectangular shape.ģ. The vector bitmap and the vector circle seems to be the same on a white background. Vector images, however, can have any shape. If you see a bitmap image with any other shape then it just means that the rest of the pixels have same color as the image’s background color. Raster or bitmap images are always rectangular in shape. The size of vector image can be increased or decreased to any proportion without affecting the image’s quality. Vector based images are not dependent on resolution. When you increase its size, some new pixels must be created based on the color values of the surrounding pixels, which is not accurate thus affecting the quality of image. When the size of a bitmap or raster image is reduced, some pixels must be thrown away. because of this its not possible to increase or decrease their size without sacrificing on image quality. Raster or Bitmap images are resolution dependent. Difference Between Raster and Vector Graphicsġ. Most popular vector graphics editing programs are Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW. A software draws the vector image by reading this data.Ĭommon vector image formats are. A vector image file basically contains information on these shapes such as where they start, what are their paths, the curve of the paths etc. Unlike raster images, vector images are made up mathematically defined geometric shapes like lines, shapes and curves, with additional attributes like color and fill. You can edit a bitmap or raster image using Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Paint, The GIMP etc. Common raster or bitmap file formats are. These tiny pixels have different color information and when combined, they form the image. For instance, a desktop icon, like the one shown here, is a 32px by 32px image, that is, it is made up of a table of pixels that has 32 rows and 32 columns. Raster images, also known as bitmap images are made up of pixels that are arranged in a grid. Learn what’s the difference between the two- Raster Graphics If you are even slightly interested in computer graphics or if you deal with digital images, you must have heard about raster images and vector images.
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