SVG

Where it came from

The W3C released SVG 1.0 in 2001 after years of competing vector proposals. It languished for a decade — IE didn't support it until 2011 — then exploded once responsive design made resolution independence essential. Today it's the default for icons, logos and charts.

How it works

SVG is XML describing geometry: 〈circle〉, 〈rect〉, 〈path d="M…"〉 commands, filled and stroked with colors/gradients. Because shapes are formulas, not pixels, they render crisp at any zoom level and weigh kilobytes.

Security note: SVG can embed scripts, which is why UWC renders it through 〈img〉/canvas rather than injecting raw markup into the page — and why server-side rasterization happens in an isolated pipeline.