Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections

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IFF (EA Interchange File Format 1985)

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Format Description Properties Explanation of format description terms

Identification and description Explanation of format description terms

Full name Electronic Arts Interchange File Format 1985 (EA IFF 85)
Description Generic wrapper format developed for data interchange and interoperability.
Production phase Various, depends upon application.
Relationship to other formats
    Has subtype AIFF, Audio Interchange File Format
    Has subtype DSDIFF_1_5, Direct Stream Digital Interchange File Format, Version 1.5
    Has subtype Wrappers for other applications, not documented here
    Affinity to SMF, Standard MIDI File Format

Local use Explanation of format description terms

LC experience or existing holdings None.
LC preference See the Library of Congress Recommended Formats Statement for format preferences for Audio Works.

Sustainability factors Explanation of format description terms

Disclosure Fully documented. Developed by Electronic Arts.
    Documentation EA IFF documentation is provided online by various third parties.
Adoption

The IFF FORM and Chunk Registry lists known chunks used by organizations and/or applications.

See also AIFF.

    Licensing and patents None.
Transparency Transparent wrapper. Transparency of bitstreams within subtypes varies; for example, see LCPM and DSD.
Self-documentation The format includes headers and identifiers associated with various "chunks," as the elements within the file are called. These headers contain encoded information (as specified) used to characterize the chunk's role and characteristics.
External dependencies None
Technical protection considerations None known to the compilers of this document.

Quality and functionality factors Explanation of format description terms

Sound
Normal rendering Not applicable
Fidelity (high audio resolution) Not applicable
Multiple channels Not applicable
Support for user-defined sounds, samples, and patches Not applicable
Functionality beyond normal rendering Not applicable

File type signifiers and format identifiers Explanation of format description terms

Tag Value Note
Filename extension iff
See https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1569639.
Internet Media Type application/x-iff
See freedesktop.org.xml.in repository
Magic numbers 46 4F 52 4D
See Gary Kessler's File Signatures.
IFF formname and/or chunkname See note.  See https://web.archive.org/web/20120618154548/http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/power/library/pa-spec16/?ca=dgr-lnxw07IFF. (Available via Internet Archive capture from June 18, 2012. Chunk IDs are discussed in https://www.martinreddy.net/gfx/2d/IFF.txt.
Pronom PUID x-fmt/157
See http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/x-fmt/157.
Wikidata Title ID Q1569639
See https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1569639.

Notes Explanation of format description terms

General  
History

The format was brought to completion in 1985 by the electronic gaming company Electronic Arts; some of the information about IFF refers to the Commodore-Amiga computer company and three Commodore-Amiga staff members are listed as co-authors of a key piece of documentation. An outline of the history of Electronic Arts is provided by Wikipedia.

The IFF format was influential and is cited as the source of ideas and approach by the creators of other tagged formats, e.g., RIFF and SMF.


Format specifications Explanation of format description terms


Useful references

URLs

Books, articles, etc.

Last Updated: 03/21/2024