by 
The Curious Bag
-
Files with the extension BMP are bitmapped digital images. This type of file is produced mostly within the Microsoft Windows environment.
Bitmaps
A bitmap file assigns each pixel a specific color, so it's literally a pixel-by-pixel map of the image.
Colors
Computers store information in binary units called bits; the more bits per pixel, the more colors a bitmap can support. A four-bit bitmap, for example, can support 16 colors, an 8-bit bitmap can support 256 colors, and a 24-bit bitmap can support more than 16 million.
Compression
Compressed image formats such as JPEG and GIF reduce file size by eliminating information not discernible to the eye. Bitmaps retain all image data.
Advantages
The bitmap format is very simple, so the files are easily used by programs and systems. The lack of compression also makes the images extremely clear.
Disadvantages
BMP files are much larger than compressed files. They also don't scale--enlarge or reduce--as well as compressed images.
Source:
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC