Pixels versus Vectors
Two kinds of images are in the digital world: bitmaps and vectors:
Bitmaps are images
made up from thousands of tiny dots called pixels
(picture elements.) Programs such as Photoshop work with bitmaps.
Bitmap images are similar to photographs; if you enlarge them too
much, the image becomes grainy or pixilated.
Vector files
are typically much smaller than bitmap files because these graphics
are defined by their geometry, by the curves that make them up.
Flash defines an object by a set of curves, allowing you to zoom
in or enlarge as far as you like without changing the quality of
the image. Vector graphics generated in Flash are great for the
Internet because they are small files.
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