256väripalettia

256väripaletti, often referred to as a 256-color palette, is a collection of 256 distinct colors that can be displayed by a computer system. This was a common standard in older graphics hardware and operating systems, particularly during the DOS era and the early days of Windows. Each color in the palette is represented by a specific index, typically an 8-bit value ranging from 0 to 255. When an image uses a 256-color palette, each pixel in the image is assigned one of these indices, rather than a direct color value.

The use of a 256-color palette was a compromise between the desire for more colors and the limitations of memory and processing power. Storing images with a full 24-bit color depth (millions of colors) required significantly more data. By using a palette, the amount of data per pixel was reduced to just 8 bits, making it possible to display more complex graphics with less memory.

The specific colors within a 256-color palette could be predefined, such as the VGA color palette, or they could be custom-defined by the application or user. This customizability allowed for fine-tuning the appearance of graphics. However, the limited number of colors meant that gradients could appear banded, and fine details might be lost if the palette was not optimized for the image content. Modern computing generally supports far greater color depths, making 256-color palettes largely obsolete for general use, though they may still be encountered in legacy systems or specific niche applications.