File talk:Flag of Calvi.svg

Strange SVG coding

The file Flag of Calvi.svg is really a funny thing.

It is one of the simplest drawings, it consists of a white rectangle and two red strokes. This can be drawn with coding similar to that:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="485" height="325">
<rect fill="#FFF" width="485" height="325"/>
<path stroke="red" stroke-width="63" d="M0,163H485M242,0V325"/>
</svg> 

But it is an example of surprising abundant coding. In fact it's only simple basic shapes, a rectangle with a cross of two lines - or may it be also rectangles. But the coding consists of 10 (ten) path commands, containing a lot of positions with an accuracy of 6 (six) decimal fractions, that means to a millionth of a pixel point.

Nowhere is something of round shape. But the pathes defines 32 (thirtytwo) cubic Béziers which cannot be seen anywhere in the image. It seems difficult to understand the make of the image, it is hidden by the amount of coding which needs finally several (five) matrix transformations, and a clipping path.

No wonder that the file grows to 4 369 bytes, where the less complicated Drapeau de Calvi.svg would fit in twenty times.

Whole the category Flags of municipalities of France contains quite a lot of other images with similar redundant coding and very large sizes. Another file, Flag of Montmelian.svg (Montmélian) consists also just of a rectangle and a cross, and needs 4 146 bytes for that.

Flag of Saint-Pol-sur-Mer.svg is another one of many examples.

There is no hint which editor was used for all these drawings.