SVG Basic

SVG HOME
SVG Intro
SVG Example
SVG in HTML

SVG Shapes

SVG Rectangle
SVG Circle
SVG Ellipse
SVG Line
SVG Polygon
SVG Polyline
SVG Path
SVG Text
SVG Stroking

SVG Filters

SVG Filters Intro
SVG Blur Effects
SVG Drop Shadows

SVG Gradients

SVG Linear
SVG Radial

SVG Examples

SVG Reference

SVG Example

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A Simple SVG Example

An example of a simple SVG graphic:

Here is the SVG file (SVG files are saved with the .svg extension):

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd">

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1">
<circle cx="100" cy="50" r="40" stroke="black"
stroke-width="2" fill="red" />
</svg>

SVG code explanation:

The first line contains the XML declaration. Notice the standalone attribute, which specifies whether the SVG file "stands alone", or contains a reference to an external file. standalone="no" means that the SVG document has a reference to an external file - in this case, the DTD.

The second and the third line refer to the SVG DTD. This DTD resides at w3.org, and contains all allowable SVG elements.

The SVG code begins with the <svg> element. This is the root element. The xmlns attribute defines the SVG namespace and the version attribute defines the SVG version to be used.

The <circle> element is used to draw a circle. The cx and cy attributes define the x and y coordinates of the center of the circle. If cx and cy are omitted, the circle's center is set to (0, 0). The r attribute defines the radius of the circle.

The stroke and stroke-width attributes control how the outline of a shape appears. We set the outline of the circle to a 2px wide, black "border".

The fill attribute refers to the color inside the circle. We set the fill color to red.

The closing </svg> tag closes the root element and the document.

Note: Since SVG is written in XML, all elements must be properly closed!