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January 2001
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2001.01.13 01:04 "Re: What is the proper number of bytes in a TIFF 6.0 "word"", by Tom Lane
Helge Blischke <H.Blischke@srz-berlin.de> writes: > If you look at figure 1 (page 14 of the spec), I think it is clear that > a "word" is meant to be a 2 byte quantity, though the spec doesn't define > this term. Clearer evidence is had from the text defining an IFD entry (at the top of page 15, in my copy of 6.0): "The Value is expected to begin on a word boundary; the corresponding Value Offset will thus be an even number." If it meant 4-byte alignment, it would say "will thus be divisible by four". I agree that the terminology is now a bit dated, but I don't see how you can possibly read this part of the spec any other way. "Even number" is a well-defined term in my part of the world. Years ago I made a list of a bunch of wording improvements I was intending to propose for TIFF 7.0, and I think this "word" business was one of them. Too bad we (the TAC) never got a chance to have any input on a 7.0 ... regards, tom lane