catspng

catspng is a file format used for storing and displaying animated images, similar to GIF. It is characterized by its lossless compression, which means that the quality of the image is not degraded during the compression process. This makes catspng particularly suitable for images that require high visual fidelity, such as graphics with sharp lines or text.

The format supports a wide color palette, allowing for up to 16 million colors, which is comparable to that of PNG and JPEG. This extensive color support ensures that images can be represented with great accuracy and detail. catspng also offers transparency features, enabling parts of an image to be see-through, which is useful for overlaying images or creating complex visual effects.

One of the key advantages of catspng is its efficiency in handling animation. It can store multiple frames within a single file and play them back in sequence to create the illusion of movement. This animation capability, combined with lossless compression and transparency, makes catspng a versatile option for web graphics and other applications where both quality and animation are important. While not as widely adopted as GIF or APNG, catspng is recognized for its technical merits in image compression and animation.