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by javajosh 1070 days ago
>SVG is one of the most, if not the most underutilized web format

Yes. I think the problem is that you have to learn to author with it before you program with it, and the learning curve is actually fairly steep. OTOH the feedback is immediate and satisfying.

Personally, I've ignored SVG's built-in animation capabilities in favor of pumping DOM modifications into the scenegraph with a (requestAnimationFrame) timer. This gives you exquisite control requiring very little code.

https://simpatico.io/svg.md#clocksvg
2 comments
gabereiser 1070 days ago
+1 for requestAnimationFrame. SMIL animations are cool until you try doing 1,000 of them. Still, I do agree that SVG is underutilized. Not only can it do so much more but it has effects that can be used in conjunction with DOM elements. Things like dropshadow, glow, blur, greyscale, duotone, etc. Check out this SVG glitch effect [0]

[0] https://codepen.io/DirkWeber/pen/YzBYWY

link
chefandy 1069 days ago
Yeah it's great with JS, and I use it for most dynamic things I do with SVG. I'd still stick with SMIL for little animated icons that would be deployed multiple places and other little problems like that.

> Yes. I think the problem is that you have to learn to author with it before you program with it, and the learning curve is actually fairly steep.

Good point.

link