| Full Name | High Efficiency Image File Format |
| Extension | HEIC |
| Type | Image |
| Mime Type | image/heic |
| Format | Binary |
An HEIC file is a relatively new image format created to offer greater quality and compression ratios than older formats such as JPG. HEIC has found widespread adoption among image editing software thanks to the use of the format by Apple on their phones and tablets.
Apple's adoption of the format was critical. Photos taken on Apple devices, such as their smart phones, being saved to the HEIC format has created a lot of interest in the format and a desire from third parties to support it.
Uses
As HEIC was designed to be a direct replacement for the JPG format, it shares the same uses; for example, it is best used for storing photographic images rather than logos and other images that require a lossless compression format.
| Full Name | Standard Triangle Language |
| Extension | STL |
| Type | 3D Model |
| Mime Type | application/vnd.ms-pki.stl |
| Format | Text |
The STL file format is used for storing 3D models and is a common format for distributing 3D printable models. STL files emerged in the 1980s as a format for storing a 3D mesh as a simple list of triangles. Due to its age and simplistic format, it has gained widespread support within 3D modeling and CAD applications.
As a result of the simple file format and its widespread support amongst 3D editors, the STL format has found itself as the format of choice for the distribution of 3D printable objects. There are many websites that offer 3D printing downloads in the STL format.
Mesh Geometry
As mentioned, STL files make use of a simple structure for containing the 3D mesh data. The 3D model is stored as a continuous list of triangles, with each triangle containing three vertices specifying the location in 3D space of the triangle, which, along with a single vector normal, is all that is required to render the model contained within the STL file. There are two formats of STL files: plain text and binary. When used with large and complex 3D models, the text format leads to very large file sizes and should be avoided, with the binary format offering more efficient storage of the mesh data.
