Which of the following are proprietary file formats?

A. MrSID

B. GIF

C. RAR

D. TIFF

Choose the correct answer from the options given below 

The correct answer is A and C only.

Key Points

• A proprietary file format is a data storage format created by a company, organization, or individual with a specific encoding scheme designed to be kept confidential.
• The decoding and interpretation of the stored data are intended to be easily accomplished only with particular software or hardware developed by the same entity.
• The specification of the data encoding format is often not disclosed or is subject to non-disclosure agreements.
• Examples:
  • AAC
  • GEDCOM
  • MP3
  • MrSID
  • RAR
  • CDR
  • PSD etc.

Additional Information

• Non-proprietary;
  • ​Non-proprietary formats are those that enjoy support from multiple developers and can be accessed using various software systems.
  • For instance, RTF files are compatible with numerous word-processing software programs.
  • Similarly, Extensible Markup Language (XML) is gaining popularity as a non-proprietary format.
  • Examples;
    • Portable Document Format (.pdf)
    • Tab-separated tables (.txt – sometimes .tsv or .tab)
    • Comma-separated tables (.csv or .txt)
    • GIF
    • TIFF