2004.09.17 16:34 "RE: [Tiff] BigTIFF Tag Value Count issue", by Fernando Loygorri

I have the same problem in Delphi. But I decided to just not care. What are the odds of a file growing beyond 2^63-1 bytes?

As I asked in another reply, what is the problem with the spec limiting the size to 2^63-1 instead of 2^64-1, then?

If you're unsure about that, another option is to always check whether the 64bit value is negative, and if it is, error out.

But, then I cannot claim that the tool I write supports BigTIFF, just a subset of it, which is no good for my purposes.

And even if it is a problem, adjusting the spec to compensate for our implementation trouble, is, I think, not very good practice. The major factor in spec design should be logic, instead, and this logically is an unsigned value and there is no logical reason to discriminate bit 63.

I disagree. There is nothing magic about the number 64. When 32 bits were becoming a straitjacket, the jump to 64 bits was made because we already have a convenient data type for it in languages like C. The equally convenient value for Java and Delphi is 63.

Regards,

FGL