The developers of the GIMP graphics editor announced they are working on a new image format to replace the XCF format, which preserves all image-related data, including layers, selections, channels, and applied guides. It is noted that the XCF format has several limitations and is ill-suited for large or complex projects, such as multi-page and animated images, which are planned for GIMP 3.6.
Instead of a rigidly structured binary format, the new implementation, similar to OpenDocument, will use a set of XML-marked files packaged in a ZIP archive. Implementation details are still being developed, but the new format is expected to speed up saving operations, as periodic saving will only require changing individual parts of the file, without overwriting the entire contents. It will also eliminate the complexities that hinder the automatic saving feature.
Support for the old XCF format will be retained for backward compatibility, but saving and loading functionality for new features will only be implemented in the new format once it is fully stabilized.
Source: opennet.ru
