[throwgfgfd25]

> but it could be compared to bitmap graphics vs. vector graphics.

This is very much how I internally understand it and explain it to people, yes!

It is a good analogy for e.g. why it's often a challenge to get something milled with a CNC when you only have an STL file.

STL is like a PNG line drawing: it can be high quality, but it's not describing the drawing. STEP is like SVG: it's more effort to render it, but it contains the instructions to draw it.