(TIFF) A file formatUSed for still-image bitmaps, stored in tagged fields. {Application programs} can USe the tags to accept or ignore fields, depending on their capabilities. While TIFF was designed to be extensible, it lacked a core of USeful functionality, so that most USeful functions (e.g. lossless 24-bit colour) requires nonstandard, often redundant, extensions. The incompatibility of extensions has led some to expand "TIFF" as "ThoUSands of Incompatible File Formats". Compare GIF, PNG, JPEG. (1997-10-11)