Bitmap
In computing, a
bitmap is a mapping from some domain to bits, that is, values which are zero or one. It is also called a bit array or bitmap index. Bitmap image downsampled from an Inkscape vectorial image In computer graphics, when the domain is a rectangle a bitmap gives a way to store a binary image, that is, an image in which each pixel is either black or white. The more general term
pixmap refers to a map of pixels, where each one may store more than two colors, thus using more than one bit per pixel. Often
bitmap is used for this as well. In some contexts, the term
bitmap implies one bit per pixel, while
pixmap is used for images with multiple bits per pixel. A bitmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term
bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a
map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits. Now, along with
pixmap, it commonly refers to the similar concept of a spatially mapped array of pixels. Raster images in general may be referred to as bitmaps or pixmaps, whether synthetic or photographic, in files or memory.