SVG Tutorial

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics.

SVG defines vector-based graphics in XML format.

Examples in Each Chapter

With our "Try it Yourself" editor, you can edit the SVG, and click on a button to view the result.

SVG Example

<html>
<body>

<h1>My first SVG</h1>

<svg width="100" height="100">
<circle cx="50" cy="50" r="40" stroke="green" stroke-width="4" fill="yellow" />
</svg>

</body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

What you should already know

Before you continue, you should have some basic understanding of the following:

HTML
Basic XML

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

What is SVG?

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics
SVG is used to define vector-based graphics for the Web
SVG defines the graphics in XML format
Every element and every attribute in SVG files can be animated
SVG is a W3C recommendation
SVG integrates with other W3C standards such as the DOM and XSL

SVG is a W3C Recommendation

SVG 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation on 4 September 2001.

SVG 1.1 became a W3C Recommendation on 14 January 2003.

SVG 1.1 (Second Edition) became a W3C Recommendation on 16 August 2011.

SVG Advantages

Advantages of using SVG over other image formats (like JPEG and GIF) are:

SVG images can be created and edited with any text editor
SVG images can be searched, indexed, scripted, and compressed
SVG images are scalable
SVG images can be printed with high quality at any resolution
SVG images are zoomable
SVG graphics do NOT lose any quality if they are zoomed or resized
SVG is an open standard
SVG files are pure XML

Creating SVG Images

SVG images can be created with any text editor, but it is often more convenient to create SVG images with a drawing program, like Inkscape.

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