GIF

In its simplest form, a GIF (pronounced “gif” or “jiff”) is just an image file. Like the JPEG or PNG file formats, the GIF format can be used to make still images. But the GIF format has a special feature—it can also be used to create animated images. We say “animated images” because GIFs aren’t really videos. If anything, they’re more like flipbooks. For one, they don’t have sound. Also, the GIF format wasn’t created for animations; that’s just how things worked out. CompuServe published the GIF format in 1987, and it was last updated in 1989.