XML Color Table Format

Introduction

During the ongoing EU project PRISM, the need for a common color table file format - which can be used with different visualization applications - was identified. Color tables are needed for simple 2d visualizations (eg. contour maps), as well as for complex 3d visualizations. It would be very helpful to be able to use the same colour scheme for both cases. Imagine - you could directly compare imagery created by visualization software A with images produced by visualization software B! Just a dream?

The search on the internet for already existing color table definitions for scientific applications did not reveal a general and publicly available format. Every visualization system has it's own way to define the colour maps and the mapping between the data and the colours. So we started to develop an XML based color table schema ourselves, aiming for an easy to use but powerful definition. Index color tables should be supported as well as color tables for pseudo-color vizualizations. We found that the XML file format is the obvious choice for a general approach.

The schema we have defined will hopefully be useful for a wide range of applications. As an visual introduction to our concept, we have written a little Application (Java Web Start required) where xml color tables can be created, modified, displayed, saved and loaded. (If you have not yet installed Java Web Start, please look here for Installation)
Screenshot

The strength of a data format is not only in the definition itself, but in the popularity of the format. The more people and applications are using the same format, the more usefull it is. Therefore we would like to share these results of our work with the community. Of course we would like to see our format used by as many applications as possible! Please let us know if you have further recommendations or if you support the format.

Michael Boettinger und Jens Trapp

XML Color Table Format

Introduction

Documentation

Specification

Samples