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Complete list of all file extensions. What text file formats exist. Text files with formatting

Anyone who has used a personal computer at least once in their life knows that all files have a certain format. You can read it by clicking on the file name. It looks like this: the first part is the name specified by the user, which is closed with a dot; the second is the file formats themselves. The ones we are used to dealing with are often the most common. For movies it is .avi, for music it is .mp3 and .wav, and for photos it is .jpg. However, there are many other file extensions. We will talk about them in this article. In addition, we will look at the main programs with which these files can be opened properly.

Open for viewing

The first concern that a user may have is that he may not be able to see on his computer. That is, only the main file name will be available for editing (changing) and reading, and not the data after the format separation point. If this is your situation, don’t be upset, there’s nothing wrong with it.

The Windows operating system has the ability to hide. This is done for more convenient use of the computer for those people who do not change the format, and they need a PC solely for working with data, maybe even for home use. Enabling or disabling the format hiding feature is quite simple. You need to go to “Tools” - the item that is at the top of the window of any folder, then select the “Folder Options” drop-down menu. It will accordingly open a dialog box where you can edit the display features of folders and files. There you need to click “View” and check (or uncheck) the box next to “Hide extensions for known file types.” If extensions are hidden, the format will not be displayed.

Main purpose program

In addition to looking at how to make your computer show and hide formats, you also need to give a little clarification about the so-called target program with which a file can be opened. It can also be called a main purpose program.

Here's the thing: the same file formats can be opened by different applications. Let's say a .jpg is opened both by image viewing programs and by graphic editors to modify it. They can also be opened and imported into presentation software, for example. However, through which application we will open our .jpg image depends on our goal - what we want to do with it. Therefore, in subsequent explanations we will take this into account.

Text files with formatting

Let's start with a description of files containing formatted text. Of course, the most common of these is the Word file format (.doc, .docx). They can easily transmit text with additional settings (such as headings, page layout, and so on). Such files can be conveniently edited in all versions of Microsoft Office Word (with the exception of .docx files in the program of 2003 and earlier). Most users use this particular text editor, which is capable of transmitting text format.

In addition, we can name another format - .rtf, which can also be opened by Word and another, simpler editor - WordPad.

And, of course, one cannot help but remember that there is a file in .pdf format. It is capable of transmitting not only text information (saved, for example, through Office Word), but also containing graphic elements. You can insert them through image editors, such as Adobe Photoshop.

Files with text without format

If we talk about the form in which text files can be found, we cannot, of course, fail to name the most popular extension. Although it is not capable of conveying text formatting: headings, pictures, tables, etc., nevertheless, the characters and characters of the text themselves are best conveyed by the .txt file format.

It is best to create and read it using a basic editor, which is found on all personal computers (and not even just on the Windows operating system). This is Notepad.

For whatever purpose you create this or that text, it is simple and convenient to do it with the help of this program. These can be either notes “at hand” on the desktop, or system files intended for placement on hosting or for collecting data using scripts and programs.

Graphics programs

Of course, graphics play the most important role for each of us when working with a computer. And it doesn’t matter what you do: just show your friends photos from your vacation or create a design for a website - in each of these, as well as in many other cases, you will come across graphic file formats.

As a rule, these are the well-known .jpg and .jpeg (the most common), .bmp (a drawing created using the standard Paint program), .png (icons that can maintain a transparent background when the picture is transferred), .gif (animated images consisting of several frames) and .psd (a standard Photoshop file that saves the working area of ​​the image). Of course, there are many more graphic files, but not everyone encounters them. Let's start with an analysis of the main areas where we work with graphics.

View graphics

Of course, all graphic file formats can be opened for viewing. Some (such as .gif, .jpg and .png) can be viewed using basic image viewing programs installed on any Windows; others can only be opened using special programs designed for editing (for example, .psd or a CorelDraw file). In this case, the image can not only be viewed, but also changed as you please.

The advantage of viewing programs is that they allow you to conveniently explore content (sometimes even on a large scale). In addition, there are applications that can perform minor manipulations on photographs (such as creating additional lighting, eliminating the red-eye effect, and others). Of course, they can also be called editors, but formally they belong to the kind of software that only makes it possible to inspect images.

Editing Images

As for deeper changes in photos and pictures, you can’t do without editors. Of course, there are a lot of highly targeted programs that allow you to simply and quickly perform this or that operation (for example, resizing a photo or applying filters). However, Photoshop remains the most versatile and flexible in any case. With this program you don't need to think about how to open the graphic content file format - it supports the widest range of extensions. And, remarkably, the vast majority of them can be changed. The opportunities that PS gives its users are simply impossible to list.

Music files

From photos, let's move on to music and recordings - another category of popular content among PC users. Of course, we should mention here. This is the most popular extension that can guarantee high-quality sound for your music. It is compatible with almost any device capable of playing media files.

Further, we can note the formats .wave (which at one time was actively used on mobile phones that did not support .mp3), .aac, .aiff, .flac, .ogg. The differences between one format or another are that some of them use audio compression, which results in loss of sound quality. Others do not resort to such distortion, but the files turn out to be more bulky.

You can open the sound file using any player. The most popular of them support a huge number of formats.

Films and videos

Those who often watch TV series or any films know very well that such files are mainly provided in the .avi format. This is the best option from the “File saving formats” category in terms of visual and audio data transmission, since it is capable of showing high quality on the maximum number of devices. However, in addition to it, of course, you can watch videos in worse quality, but using earlier versions of mobile phones (.3gp), as well as in .mp4 format (for older generation players), .mpeg and others.

Again, as with audio recordings, you can open them with any video player on Windows or MacOS.

Web Page Format

You know that many website addresses end in .html. Strange, isn't it? It would seem, how can a page on the Internet end in the same way as the file extension?

Everything is very simple! In fact, when we access a particular resource, we access this file. And of course, if you see the .html file format on your computer, rest assured that this is a web page. How to open it?

It all depends on the purpose of running such a file. For example, if you just need to view its contents and how the code is displayed, you can safely use a browser (Google Chrome, Opera, Mozilla - your choice).

In the same case, if you want to change the page, you need to launch it using text editors, starting with the simplest, Notepad, and ending with a comprehensive solution for creating web pages - Adobe Dreamweaver.

System and execution files

So, having finished looking at file types such as music, pictures, movies and web pages, let's move on to another equally important category of data that we all encounter very often - system files.

Generally, we know that they play an important role in the operation of our system. And we try not to touch them, so as not to run into problems at the operating system level. Such files are often in .dll format, and we are accustomed to ignoring them.

Another category is execution files with the .exe extension. We know that if we run such a file, we open the program or application to which it belongs. Often, when downloading an unknown file like file.exe from the Internet, we can also see a warning from the antivirus application, signaling the threat of such files.

Indeed, .exes can run a wide range of scripts on your computer, so you should be careful with them.

What happens if you change the format?

We will also touch on such a topic as selecting a program with which you can open a file of a particular format.

The fact is that many data extensions are so flexible that they can be opened through different applications. An example would be .jpg. In a regular photo viewer, you will see the picture itself, while in Photoshop you will have a whole work field open, allowing you to change anything in this image.

This is a clear example of the fact that the set of available actions in each individual case depends on the software with which we work. If you open the index.html file in a browser, you will see the site page, whereas in Notepad it will be a ton of lines of code. And so on.

True, of course, you can change programs for opening different types of files within reasonable limits. Let's put it this way: you can open an audio file using notepad, but what you see will not tell you anything: it will be a mass of encoded information displayed in the form of "hieroglyphs".

Hiding file extensions

So, we took a brief tour of the file formats that ordinary users most often deal with. Of course, there are many more. And it is clear that you have not worked with each of them personally. It’s just that perhaps you haven’t thought about the purpose of some formats, but now they have become at least a little clearer to you.

Now, if you are uncomfortable with constantly seeing the type of a particular file for certain reasons (for example, so as not to accidentally change the format in the name), you can disable this feature. This can be done in the “Properties” of any folder by checking the box next to “Do not display file extensions.” Experts advise most home computer users to do just this so as not to be confused about what format the file is when renaming it.

First of all, let's decide on video standards. They must be taken into account when creating a video film or video.

PAL is a video standard for analogue color television, used in Europe and Russia: video size 720x576, 25 fps (25 frames per second).

NTSC is an analogue color television standard developed in the USA, resolution 720x480, 29.97 fps.

There is also the SECAM standard, developed in France.

At the time of writing this article (2010), this was very relevant, but now analog television is being actively replaced by digital television and will soon be completely replaced.

VHS- analog video is a format recorded on video cassettes that were watched (or still watched) on VCRs.

DV (Digital Video) is a video format developed jointly by the world's leading video production companies for digital records. This format has a low video compression ratio (5:1) and provides high quality video recording. MiniDV cameras shoot video in this format.

The DV format is characterized by a large video stream and, accordingly, has a large output video file. An hour-long recording on a MiniDV cassette will have a volume of approximately 12-13 GB, or 1 minute - 200 MB.

The resulting video must be compressed for later viewing on a computer, projector, DVD player, or on the Internet. Those. From the resulting high-quality video we can obtain any format we need of appropriate quality.

Attention! Not to be confused with DVD (Digital Video Disc) - this is disk with digital information, what we in life call a DVD disc.

AVCHD - high definition video format, stands for: Advanced Video Coding- advanced video encoding, HD- High Definition - high definition. This is the most modern format used in HD cameras.

Compression standards

MPEG is one of the main compression standards. The abbreviation MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group) is the name of the international committee involved in the development of this compression standard. Its varieties:

MPEG-1 is a compression format for compact discs (CD-ROM). The video quality is the same as that of a regular VCR, resolution 352x240; a disc with a film in this format is usually designated VCD (VideoCD). Now rarely used.

MPEG-2 - format for DVDs, digital television. DVD, HDD, and Flash cameras shoot video in this format.

MPEG-3 - not currently used. Let's not confuse it with MP3(MPEG Audio Layer 3) - audio compression technology!

MPEG-4 is a format obtained using the well-known codecs DivX, XviD, H.264, etc. It is often simply called MP4. Reduces the video stream even more than MPEG-2, but the picture is of decent quality, so this format is supported by most modern DVD players. Of particular note is the high quality of video compressed with the latest generation codec H.264.

HD (High Definition) - high resolution format, a new format of special image clarity. Currently, two varieties are used: with a resolution of 1280x720 and 1920x1080, both designed for a frame with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a square pixel.

There is also a so-called anamorphic version of HD video with a resolution of 1440x1080 and an aspect ratio of 16:9, which is explained by the rectangular pixel (aspect ratio 1.33).

Recently, most consumer cameras record in HD format, based on the MPEG-2 codec. The video quality is high, but to watch video in HD format, you need to have appropriate viewing equipment (for example, LCD or plasma TV with a large diagonal), otherwise you will not be able to evaluate the quality of the video (viewing and editing HD video).

Video file extensions

AVI (Audio-Video Interleaved) is an extension to a huge number of video files, but is not a format or codec. This container, developed by Microsoft, which can store 4 types of streams - video, audio, text and midi.

This container can contain video of any format from mpeg1 to mpeg-4, sounds of different formats, and any combination of codecs is possible.

To determine the contents of this container, you need to use one of the many programs from the powerful Adobe Premiere to the simple VideoToolBox (which is hidden in the AVI file).

WMV (Windows Media Video) is a format from Microsoft, in which you will receive a video made using the simple video editor Movie Maker, which is included in the Windows system.

MOV is a format from Apple Macintosh - QuickTime, which in addition to video can also contain graphics, animation, and 3D. Most often, QuickTime Player is needed to play this format.

MKV - (Matryoshka or Matroska) is also a container that can contain video, audio, subtitles, menus, etc. It is open source, and has become more and more common lately.

3gp - videos for third generation mobile phones, are small in size and low quality.

Video formats for the Internet:

FLV (Flash Video) is a video format for posting and transmitting on the Internet. Used by such platforms for posting video clips as YouTube, RuTube, Tube.BY, Google Video, Movie and many others.

SWF (Shockwave Flash) is an extension of animation created in Adobe Flash, as well as video in flash format. Played by browsers using Flash Player. Flash movies are also widely distributed on the Internet.

RM, RA, RAM - extensions of the RealVideo format from RealNetworks, which is used for television broadcasting on the Internet. It has a small file size and low quality, but allows you to watch, for example, a TV news release on the website of a certain television company.

DVD extensions

VOB (Versioned Object Base) is a container extension that can contain multiple video (MPEG-2 format) and audio streams, as well as movie menus and subtitles. These are the main files on a movie DVD.

IFO - files on a DVD disc containing information about the film, menu, order of launching VOB files, necessary, for example, for a DVD player, i.e. service files. Created during the conversion or authoring process, i.e. burning a DVD.

m2v, m2p - video extensions in MPEG-2 format. I won’t go into depth, I’ll just say that such a video is needed for authoring, i.e. creating VOB files and burning DVDs. I'll talk about authoring elsewhere.

In this article, I have listed, of course, not all existing formats, but only those that are often encountered.

When creating a video or video, you must clearly understand what video format you have and what you need in the output.

The last characters in the file name indicate its format. Previously, the format was defined by three characters, but over time it began to use more characters, for example, 4 or 5.

There are a large number of formats, since many programs use their own formats. Therefore, the user does not need to know them all. However, there are the most common ones, which we list below. If you need to find out what a particular format means, you can type in the search engine the word format, space, dot and format symbols, for example, for format.jpeg we will type format.jpeg.

Text formats

Txt is the first format for text files that does not use formatting (font size, bold, paragraph indentation, etc.). Contains only text.

Doc is a format that has been used for a long time in the Microsoft Word text editor. Most common for text editors.

Docx is a format for the Microsoft Word text editor, which appeared in the Microsoft office 07 package (2007) and is available in Office 10. Not all editors support this format, since this is a licensed development from Microsoft.

Odt is a format for the Write text editor of the OpenOffice package.

Rtf is a format for a text editor that can be used in different operating systems, that is, it can be transferred from a computer with one operating system to another computer with a different operating system.

Pdf is a text file format developed by Adobe. Available in smaller sizes and better renders images compared to other formats. When it was developed, the editor to create such files had to be purchased from Adobe. At the same time, any user could download a viewer for this file. Many companies produced text information in this format, which is why it became popular.

Chm is a file format that is used to store multiple html files. Created to replace the help system format. May have links that can take you to another page.



Formats for E-BOOK

Formats for viewing books on the screen are intended for viewing and reading books on the screen of a tablet, computer and special devices - E-book. They are not intended for editing text or inserting comments. To read them, special programs are required. There are programs that support or read multiple formats. These include formats: .Epub, .Fb2, .Mobi, .Lit and others. Not all of them can support pictures.

There is another format that allows you to view books with pictures - .djvu. It differs from the above formats in that its page consists of a graphic design rather than text. Therefore, if the program can place an arbitrary number of characters in the format, then in the .djvu format only the number that was present when the book was scanned. Also, to view this format, a special program is required.

Drawings

There are a large number of file formats for drawing. One of the first was .bmp, which contains its own color value for each pixel. Therefore, it is the most voluminous among other formats. On the other hand, it reproduces colors best. Over time, other formats for drawings appeared that contain compression algorithms: .gif, .jpg, .png, .tif.

Since not all devices and programs support all kinds of formats, sometimes it is necessary to convert a picture into the most common form, for example, .jpeg. To do this, you can use both format conversion programs, or you can enter a graphics program that supports the drawing format and then immediately save it, but in a common format.

Audio

The most common formats include: .midi, .mp3, .wav. The .midi format is different in that it contains notes and is used mainly with a synthesizer. Therefore, its size is the smallest. However, you cannot record your voice in it. There are other formats, for example: .aa, .aac, .ac3, .amr, .cda, .imelody, .imy, .flac, .m4a, .ogg, .qcp, .wma, .xmf.

Video

The most common format was .avi, but it itself can use different types of compression, so the film may not play on a video player. In order for the video player to play a larger number of video files, you need to use a codec, with the help of which routines are installed that allow you to decrypt the video data stream, for example, k-lite. Here is a list of other formats: .3gp, .avi, .aaf, .flv, .mp4, .mpeg, .mov, .vob, .wmv, .mts and many others.

Archival

Archive files are used on a computer so as not to store large files, since a compression procedure is used when creating them. The earliest is the .zip format, which can be unpacked using operating system tools. Other archive files require special programs to work with them. Here are their formats: .7z, .ace, .arj, .cab, .rar, .tar, .ha, .iso, . lhq, .lzo, .zoo.

Of these, the .tar format does not compress data; it packs files one by one. If you have a lot of pictures, then it is better to use this format. Because when drawings are compressed, the file size does not always become smaller than the original, but may even be larger. At the same time, having several folders in one file can be useful.

The .iso format also differs from other formats in that it writes the contents of optical discs sequentially and actually contains an image of the disc.

Web pages

Website pages on the Internet are written in a special language that can be used in different operating systems (for stationary pages): .html, .xml, .xhtml, .mhtml and others, (for dynamic ones) .asp, .aspx, .adp , .bml, .cfm, .cgi, .ihtml, .jsp, ..las, .pl, .php, .ssi.

Presentations

The following formats are available: .odt, .ppt, .pptx.

There are also other formats: .xls and .sxc for spreadsheets (Excel), each programming language has its own permissions, for example, the PHP language has the .php format. The .exe format stands for executable file and is typically found in installation files or self-opening archives.

Here are a few more types of formats: .log – system log format, .tmp – temporary file, .ini, .cfg – file with program parameters, .dll – library with program modules, .ttf – vector fonts, .fon – font, . dbx – email.

Over time, a huge number of various files and folders accumulate on the computer. However, immediately after installing Windows, only a few directories are visible to the user on the system disk: Documents and Settings, Program Files And WINDOWS. These are system directories created by Windows XP during the installation process.

In addition to these directories, there are other files and folders on the disk, but they are hidden from our eyes. To see them: in the My Computer window, select “Tools” – “Folder Options” – “View” from the menu bar. Uncheck the box “Hide protected system files (recommended)” and check the box “Show hidden files and folders” - click OK.

You will see folders System Volume Information And RECYCLER, as well as several files. Because They are responsible for the proper operation of Windows, but are hidden from computer users by default.

Now let's take a closer look at what is stored in the Windows system directories.:

In folder Documents and Settings contains profiles (various data and settings) of users working with the system. Each user is assigned their own folder. Catalogs All Users, Default User, LocalService, NetworkService And Administrator(or Administrator, which is the same thing) are created by Windows itself. They exist regardless of whether you added users with such names or not. Folder Administrator stores files and settings necessary to work under the built-in Administrator account.

Catalog Program Files contains folders with programs installed both during the Windows installation process and by computer users. Each program has a separate folder. If, after removing a program from your computer, its folder remains, it is recommended to manually remove it from the Program Files directory. Otherwise, with frequent installation and removal of programs, a fair amount of garbage may accumulate in this folder.

Folder System Volume Information is hidden by default. Program system recovery Windows XP creates copies of the registry in it. Those. This is where system restore point directories are stored, sorted by creation date. Windows does not allow you to view the contents of the System Volume Information directory in the usual way. The size of this folder depends on the amount of disk space reserved by the system for recovery points. Is it possible at all? disable system restore: to do this, right-click on the “My Computer” icon – select “Properties” – go to the “System Restore” tab and check the box next to “Disable System Restore on all drives”: . However, it is much better to use the same tab to simply limit the amount of disk space reserved by the system for recovery points (this can be done by selecting an available disk and clicking the “Options” button).

Folder RECYCLER nothing more than the Recycle Bin from the Windows Desktop.

In folder WINDOWS The operating system, all its settings, utilities, drivers, etc. are located. The contents of this folder must not be changed under any circumstances. In many instructions and reference books, instead of the WINDOWS folder they write %SystemRoot%(It is the same).

Now let's see what important folders and files the WINDOWS directory contains:

In folder Driver Cache/i386 there is a driver cache. If you remove it, then when you add any new hardware, Windows will ask for an installation disk.

In folder Media Sound files are stored to announce system events.

In folder Minidump A small memory dump is stored - this is a special record of the minimum set of information necessary to determine the cause of the problem. Windows XP will automatically create a new file in this folder each time a fatal error occurs. The Minidump directory is set in the “Boot and Recovery” dialog box: right-click on the “My Computer” icon – “Properties” – “Advanced” tab – in the “Boot and Recovery” section, click the “Options” button. Find the line “Small dump folder”:In the folder SoftwareDistribution folders and files downloaded using automatic Windows XP updates are stored. In principle, this folder can be deleted - in this case, the system will create it again. On various forums, some users claimed that deleting this folder sometimes solved the problem of automatic updates failing.

File hiberfil.sys appears in the WINDOWS folder if sleep mode is enabled. When inactive, the system dumps the entire amount of RAM into this file, so it is equal to the size of the installed RAM.

Folder system32– a very important folder, responsible for all system settings. In addition, it contains almost all utilities and system utilities. Here you can find Notepad (notepad.exe), Calculator (calc.exe), Disk Cleanup Utility (cleanmgr.exe) and many other programs.

In folder system32\drivers there are driver files. There is a file in the system32\drivers\etc folder hosts. It is designed to match IP addresses and domain names of computers and Internet servers. The most common use of the hosts file is to block certain sites.

In folder system32\config contains files that work with the registry:

the AppEvent.Evt file is an application event log used by the Windows registry;
the SAM file contains the registry key HKLM\SAM;
the SecEvent.Evt file is a log of security events used by the Windows Registry;
the SECURITY file contains the HKLM\SECURITY registry key;
the software file contains the registry key HKLM\Software;
the SysEvent.Evt file is a system event log used by the Windows registry;
The system file contains the HKLM\System registry key.

In folder system32\Restore contains the system recovery program rstrui.exe and related files.

Internet.

Internet is a global computer network covering the whole world. Today the Internet has about 15 million subscribers in more than 150 countries. The network size increases monthly by 7-10%. The Internet forms a kind of core that connects various information networks belonging to various institutions around the world with one another.

If previously the network was used exclusively as a medium for transferring files and email messages, today more complex problems of distributed access to resources are being solved. About three years ago, shells were created that support network search functions and access to distributed information resources and electronic archives.

The Internet, which once served exclusively research and teaching groups whose interests extended to access to supercomputers, is becoming increasingly popular in the business world.

Companies are seduced by speed, cheap global communications, ease of collaboration, affordable programs, and a unique Internet database. They view the global network as a complement to their own local networks.

At a low cost of service (often just a flat monthly fee for the lines or telephone used), users can access commercial and non-commercial information services in the United States, Canada, Australia and many European countries. In the archives of free access to the Internet you can find information on almost all areas of human activity, from new scientific discoveries to weather forecasts for tomorrow.

In addition, the Internet provides unique opportunities for low-cost, reliable and confidential global communications around the world. This turns out to be very convenient for companies with branches around the world, transnational corporations and management structures. Typically, using the Internet infrastructure for international communications is much cheaper than direct computer communications via satellite or telephone.

E-mail is the most common Internet service. Currently, approximately 20 million people have an email address. Sending a letter by e-mail is much cheaper than sending a regular letter. In addition, a message sent by e-mail will reach the addressee in a few hours, while a regular letter can take several days, or even weeks, to reach the addressee.

The Internet is currently experiencing a period of growth, largely due to the active support of European governments and the United States. Every year in the United States, about 1-2 billion dollars are allocated to create new network infrastructure. Research in the field of network communications is also funded by the governments of Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, and Germany.

However, government funding is only a small part of the incoming funds, because The "commercialization" of the network is becoming increasingly visible (80-90% of funds are expected to come from the private sector).

Internet data transfer protocols.

The main thing that distinguishes the Internet from other networks is its protocols - TCP/IP. In general, the term TCP/IP usually means everything related to protocols for communication between computers on the Internet. It covers an entire family of protocols, application programs, and even the network itself. TCP/IP is an internetworking technology, internet technology. A network that uses internet technology is called "internet". If we are talking about a global network that unites many networks with internet technology, then it is called the Internet.

The TCP/IP protocol gets its name from two communication protocols (or communication protocols). These are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). Despite the fact that the Internet uses a large number of other protocols, the Internet is often called the TCP/IP network, since these two protocols are, of course, the most important.

Like any other network on the Internet, there are 7 levels of interaction between computers: physical, logical, network, transport, session level, presentation and application level. Accordingly, each level of interaction corresponds to a set of protocols (i.e. rules of interaction).

Physical layer protocols determine the type and characteristics of communication lines between computers. The Internet uses almost all currently known communication methods, from a simple wire (twisted pair) to fiber-optic communication lines (FOCL).

For each type of communication line, a corresponding logical level protocol has been developed to control the transfer of information over the channel. Logical layer protocols for telephone lines include SLIP (Serial Line Interface Protocol) and PPP (Point to Point Protocol). For communication via LAN cable, these are package drivers for LAN cards.

Network layer protocols are responsible for transmitting data between devices on different networks, that is, they are responsible for routing packets in the network. Network layer protocols include IP (Internet Protocol) and ARP (Address Resolution Protocol).

Transport layer protocols control the transfer of data from one program to another. Transport layer protocols include TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol).

Session layer protocols are responsible for establishing, maintaining, and destroying appropriate channels. On the Internet, this is done by the already mentioned TCP and UDP protocols, as well as the UUCP (Unix to Unix Copy Protocol).

Representative layer protocols serve application programs. Representative-level programs include programs that run, for example, on a Unix server to provide various services to subscribers. These programs include: telnet server, FTP server, Gopher server, NFS server, NNTP (Net News Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP2 and POP3 (Post Office Protocol), etc.

Application layer protocols include network services and programs for providing them.

Currently, all operating systems for personal computers provide user interaction using a graphical interface.

This allows even a novice computer user to work confidently in the operating system environment (perform file operations, run programs, and so on).

Graphical interfaceallows human interaction with a computer in the form of a dialogue using windows, menus and controls (dialog panels, buttons, etc.).

Working with the mouse. To work with the graphical interface, a mouse or other coordinate input device is used, and the user must be able to:

  • left click- single click and release of the main (usually left) mouse button;
  • right click- single click and release of the additional (usually right) mouse button;
  • double click- two clicks of the main mouse button with a minimum time interval between them;
  • drag and drop- pressing the left or right mouse button and moving the object with the button pressed.

Desktop. The main part of the screen is occupied Desktop, on which they are located icons And shortcuts(icons with small arrows in the lower left corner). Icons and shortcuts provide quick, double-click access to drives, folders, documents, apps, and devices.

Icons appear on Desktop after installing Windows. There are usually icons on the left side of the screen My Computer, Network Places, Recycle Bin And My Documents.

For quick access to disks, the printer, and frequently used documents, it is advisable to create shortcuts on the desktop. A shortcut differs from an icon in that it represents an object that is not actually located on Desktop, but in some other folder. The arrow means that we do not have the object itself, but a link to it. Shortcuts are created by dragging object icons onto Desktop.

You've probably noticed that different video files have different formats. Why are there so many different video file formats?

Because these formats were originally developed for different purposes. Some file formats allow you to store multiple audio tracks and subtitles, while other file formats do not. Some formats are more suitable for broadcasting, while other formats are more suitable for editing.

This article will briefly describe the most popular video file formats.

Video file standards

First of all, these are standards that have been developed by various international organizations and which define the encoding and storage format of media file data.

  • MPEG-1 (Moving Picture Experts Group 1) is a video and audio compression standard. For video, the Video CD format is used, and for audio, the MPEG audio layer 3 format, or the well-known MP3 format for short. This is the most compatible format for playback on computers with CD/DVD optical drives.
  • MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) - this standard is used in DVD and DBV digital television. Videos are shot in this format in various video shooting devices.
  • MPEG-3 (Moving Picture Experts Group 3) - this standard was developed for high-definition television HDTV, and has now become part of the MPEG-2 standard.
  • MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Experts Group 4) - this standard is used to compress digital video and audio. Consists of several standards and includes many features of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. This standard uses various codecs: DivX, Xvid, H.264 (AVC) and others. The MP4 format is one of the specifications of this standard.

A media file has several characteristics that determine how to work with this file. This is the codec with which this media file is encoded and the container type, which determines the recording format using various information: video and audio data, subtitles and other information placed in the container.

  • Example codecs - DivX, Xvid, H.264, Theora.
  • Example containers - Matroska, AVI, QuickTime, Ogg, 3GP.

Video file formats

Now let's look at the most common video file formats. After installing the codec package, almost all the formats discussed in the article will have to be played by a standard player - Windows Media Player installed in the Windows operating system. Along with the K-Lite Codec Pack, the Media Player Classic Home Cinema player is installed, which will also play almost all of these video file formats.

  • 3GP - this container was designed for use on mobile phones in third generation cellular communications. This format reduces the size of the audio and video file used on a mobile phone.

Opens using programs: VLC media player, MPlayer, QuickTime Player, RealPlayer.

  • ASF (Advanced Systems Format File) is a container developed by Microsoft for streaming audio and video. When using this format, no additional codecs are required.

Opens using programs: Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema, VLC media player.

  • AVI (Audio-Video Interleaved) is a container developed by Microsoft Corporation. This is one of the most common video file formats. Various codecs can be used in this format.

Opens using programs: Windows Media Player, CyberLink PowerDVD, QuickTime Player, VLC media player, Winamp.

  • FLV (Flash Video) is a video format created for transmitting video over the Internet. This is the most common format on the Internet. Widely used on various video hosting sites that are designed to store video files. The main advantages are: good picture quality at low bitrates, the ability to view videos before the video file is completely downloaded, and the use of this format for various operating systems.

Opens using programs: browsers using Adobe Flash Player, FLV Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.

  • M2TS is a Blu-ray video file.

Opens using programs: CyberLink PowerDVD, Sony Vegas, VLC media player.

  • M4V is an iTunes video file.

Opens using programs: iTunes, QuickTime Player, RealPlayer, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.

  • MKV (Matroska) is a container that can contain video, audio, subtitles, etc. This format can contain various types of subtitles and supports adding multiple audio tracks to a video file.

Opens using programs: Windows Media Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.

  • MOV is a container developed by Apple for QuickTime. This is a format of the Mac OS X operating system. Plays on the Windows operating system. Files in this format are used to store movies and various videos. This format can contain multiple video and audio tracks, subtitles, animation and panoramic images. This format is easy to edit.

Opens using programs: QuickTime Player, CyberLink PowerDirector, Windows Media Player.

  • MP4 is a video file of one of the MPEG-4 standard specifications. This format is very close to the MOV format and has almost the same capabilities.

Opens using programs: QuickTime Player, Windows Media Player, VLC media player.

  • MTS is an AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) video file that contains high-definition HD video and is used to save video files in camcorders from Sony, Panasonic and other companies.

Opens using programs: CyberLink PowerDVD, Sony Vegas, Corel VideoStudio, Corel WinDVD.

  • Ogg is a free, universal and open format designed to store multimedia files encoded with various codecs.

Opens using programs: VLC media player, MPlayer.

  • RealMedia is a format created by RealNetworks. Mainly used for broadcasting television and streaming video on the Internet. Files in this format are usually small in size, have a low bitrate and are therefore of lower quality.

Opens using programs: RealPlayer, VLC media player, MPlayer.

  • SWF (Shockwave Flash or Small Web Format) is a video format for flash animation, vector graphics, video and audio on the Internet. A picture saved in this format is scaled without visible distortion, the video clip is small in size, and the video file is loaded and played back faster.

Opens using programs: browsers using Adobe Flash Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.

  • VOB (Versioned Object Base) is data from a DVD-Video optical disc, usually located in the VIDEO_TS folder. These files contain MPEG-2 video, audio, and subtitles.

Opens using programs: Windows Media Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema, CyberLink PowerDVD and many other programs.

  • WMV (Windows Media Video) is Windows Media developed by Microsoft Corporation. No additional codecs are required for playback. The video file can be protected using DRM protection system.

Opens using programs: Windows Media Player, CyberLink PowerDVD, MPlayer.

  • WebM is an open format proposed by Google as a replacement for the H.264/MPEG4 standard.

Opens using programs: browsers, VLC media player, MPlayer.

Television picture standards

Old analog standards:

  • NTSC - common in North America, part of South America, Japan and some Asian countries.
  • PAL - common in Europe, Asia, Australia, parts of Africa and South America.
  • SECAM - distributed in France, in most of the countries of the former USSR and in some African countries.

New digital standards:

  • ATSC - North America.
  • DBV - Europe, including Russia.
  • ISDB - Japan.

There are still quite a few analog and digital video recording formats, most of which were developed by specific manufacturers for the equipment they produce.

Most users know that each file has its own name, consisting of the name itself and the extension. These two elements are usually separated by a dot. The user can choose the file name independently. But with expansion everything is a little more complicated.


The thing is that it is tied to the file type. It is not recommended to change it. Most often, a person works with the same file format, which is directly related to the type of his activity. For example, professional musicians often work with sound files. But there are the most common file types that almost all users use in their daily lives.

These include:

1. Archives.

Rar is a group of files or a single file that is compressed using rar compression technology. The compression ratio is higher than the zip format. The abbreviation rar stands for: roshal Archive on behalf of the developer, Evgeniy Roshal.

— zip – a file compressed using zip technology. This format is supported by most modern archivers. Windows users can create such archives using the WinZip program.

2. Video

— Avi — video files with data encoded using various codecs. The format uses less compression than similar formats. Various media players can be used to play avi files. The main thing is that the program supports the codec used when encoding the file.

— mpeg1-2 (MPG) – a format for storing audio and video with data loss and compression.

- mpeg4 (MP4) - a clip or video compressed in the MP4 format, usually used for transferring and exchanging files on the Internet. Also, this format can use various compression technologies for video and audio tracks.

— SWF – files with this extension are created using the Macromedia Flash program. This format is used to store animation clips and vector graphics. Files may contain audio. To view them you need Flash Player and a modern Internet browser. Files with the swf extension cannot be edited.

3. Graphic files

— bmp – raster graphic format. This is the standard format used for graphics files in Windows. Today, almost all image editing programs and applications can read and edit files in this format. A distinctive feature of the format is that the image is not compressed.

- gif - Graphics Interchange Format - a standard developed by CompuServe. Used to store color bitmap images. The format was created for use on the web, so files in this format are small in size. Gif can be used to record a black and white image. Can also be used to save animation.

JPG - Typically used to store bitmap images. The JPEG format has a high compression ratio. This allows you to significantly reduce file sizes. However, this format is characterized by loss of quality. Today, JPEG is considered one of the best formats for storing color images and photographs. It is convenient to use on the Internet and for sending by e-mail.

— psd is a graphic format used when working with the Photo Shop program.

— tif (tiff) – Tagged format, raster graphic format. This extension is used to save high quality images. Today, this format is the standard for data exchange. When using tif, you can compress an image without losing information. Tif is widely used by digital camera users.

4. Text files

— doc is a text document created using Microsoft Word. It may contain text, tables, graphs, charts, printing options, and formatting options.

— pdf is a text document used in Adobe Acrobat. Suitable for providing documents in a fixed form. The display of the document will not depend on the type of device on which it will be opened. This means that the document will be displayed as it was created.

— rtf – a format used to store marked-up text documents. Offered by Microsoft. Documents in rtf format are now supported in most text editors. Also, the most common editors have the ability to import and export to rtf format. In this regard, the Rtf format is quite often used to transfer text from one program to another. The WordPad text editor built into Windows OS saves all documents in rtf format by default.

— txt – standard text format. Allows you to save unformatted text. You can open a document in txt format in any word processing program.

5. Sound files

- midi - using this format you can create similar sounds on different devices. In addition, this format allows you to organize data exchange between devices.

— mp3 – compression parameters used in the MP3 format are similar to those used in JPG images. Using this format, you can achieve tenfold compression, with a corresponding loss of sound quality. Of course, the sound quality in this format is a matter of debate, but for non-professional musicians this is quite enough.

— wav is a format developed by Microsoft. Used in the Windows operating system. Using this format, you can accurately convey sound. Moreover, the format does not take up much disk space. But the Wav format is not suitable for transmission over the Internet.

- wma - a format also developed by windows. Used for broadcasting and storing audio files.
Other common formats

— exe – applications and programs are stored in this format. A file in exe format is launched when you double click the mouse.

- html - Hyper Text Markup language - a format used to create Internet pages.