animated gifs - impact on httpd access.log -Reply

[Frank Cervone]

Both methods (push-pull and animated gifs) give you the appearance of
animation. An animated gif places the burden of displaying the animation
on the client's browser.  All of the images are downloaded once as part
of a single file and the browser cycles through the images in the file
without any further interaction with the server.  Push-pull on the other
hand retrieves each animation image from a seperate file on the server.
For each animation image, the browser has to request the next file from
the server.  Push-pull was an early, primative attempt to implement
animation, but it still has some limited use. An example would be moving
from one page to another after a certain amount of time has elapsed.  It is
not appropriate, however, for fast moving, multiple image animation. The
animated gif format was developed partially as a reaction to the
incredibly negative impact fast-moving, multiple image push-pull animation
has on a server.

Frank Cervone
Assistant Director for Systems
DePaul University Libraries
2350 North Kenmore Avenue
Chicago, IL  60614
773.325.7000 ext 1114 
773.325.7869 (fax)

>>> Walter W. Giesbrecht <walterg at YorkU.CA> 11/12/96 07:56pm >>>
I thought animated .GIFs were simply a series of images stored in the 
same file. The file would only be served up once, but would continue  to
be animate _ad nauseum_ once it reached the requesting client.  Unless
push-pull animations are different, of course ...

------------------------------------------------------------
Walter W. Giesbrecht                        walterg at yorku.ca     York
University Libraries          (416) 736-5639 ext. 77551
North York, Ontario, Canada