File Extension PIC

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PIC File Extension Description

The .pic file extension, which is all together different and must not be confused with the PICT format file, is categorized as a generic picture format that was initially associated with the software application PCPaint. The program was the initial Paintbrush application offering that was capable of running under a PC environment, and used the native .pic file extension format including application, with the multimedia authoring tool GRASP. The file extension .pic was the first widely accepted imaging standard to be implemented for the DOS environment.

The .pic file extension is characterized as a raster image format that was entirely device independent, allowing for its varied implementation with different software applications, regardless of machine configuration. The header of the file extension .pic contains the data regarding the associated display device (the hardware?s color depth, palette data and screen resolution, including bit planes and other relative information), which was separate from the real image data. This .pic file extension configuration, allowed it to be handled by different computer systems of varying hardware components.

The initial palette index, associated with the file extension .pic, usually ranges from 2 or 4 colors up to a maximum of 16 to 256 colors, with current modifications extending its capabilities to host 24-bit true color images. Despite its device independence, the .pic file extension still retains data regarding the source device, which created it, allowing for its optimized decoding under the native system that generated the image format.

The procedure for the compression that is applied to the .pic file extension is based on an advanced technique, which incorporates parent-child block-based algorithm, that collapses a series of successive bytes having identical colors, and transfers it to an encoded child block that exists within the parent block, and treating as raw data the non-consecutive bytes that are included in the current parent block.

The processing of the file extension .pic decodes the child blocks of every parent block, and unpacks them either directly to the display adapter (native mode,) or an off-screen buffer that is not utilizing the native display mode. Targeting the display adapter directly allows for a faster unpacking of the .pic file extension.

• Properties:

• Common Path:
  User Defined
• Associated Applications:
  SoftImage 3D, IBM Lotus, Micrografx Draw, Advanced Art Studio, and other image editors

Additional PIC File Info:

John Bridges , PIC File Created by: http://netghost.narod.ru/gff/vendspec/pictor/pictor.txt

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