Information about the Extensionary

As the page titles indicate, the Extensionary is an on-going, incomplete project. Any database of file extension information is always incomplete given that people always invent new ones. Having just completed my initial spat of entries (1500+) with each having their own blog entry, over the course of the next year or two I'll wiggle in some more and add other content such as more links to reference materials (standards organizations, well kept Wikipedia pages, and authoritative/helpful web pages), iconography, and anything else the fly-by extension seeker might want.

Entries can and will change over time as will the extensions themselves and how they are used. Old file extensions that may only be encountered on ancient computers, in old software/applications and/or operating systems will exist side-by-side with new file extensions. Also consider that what I provide herein may be incomplete, inaccurate, and may reflect only a partial sum of all known uses of extensions. So do not come away thinking if it isn't here, then it isn't to be found, or that if it is found, that what you found here represents all there is to be found (It never will be!). Other file extension resources exist, and they provide just as varying a collection of information as the Extensionary. So play the field, and allow yourself to adapt to serve your own needs. That is what web browsers are all about.

I don't have home Internet, and free WiFi isn't available from my bedroom window. So don`t hold your breath for the Extensionary to be finished anytime soon. It is something I work on when I have a spare moment or two.

I welcome comments, queries, or useful information.

Frequently Encountered Phrases and References in the Extensionary.

"Many variants" = Refers to file formats. That there are different versions or variations as to how a file of a specific format is created or it's content is accessed properly, and that these may be wholly unrelated to each other (content/format is employed for different puposes/applications).

"Many applications" = File extensions of the type indicated are used by many different applications and/or types of applications. For many popular file formats, such as text files (.txt), html files (.htm/.html), there will be many hundreds or thousands of such applications.

Regarding Pages the Extensionary Links To.

In general, I try to link to useful, helpful, public resources. Any links to web pages of application developers (and their applications) are solely for the benefit of visitors to the Extensionary. Visitors should not presume that what I link to is a "sole resource". Many of the extensions in the Extensionary will have numerous, divergent applications that employ them. That I link to one web page of an application developer/resource does not mean a visitor should stop there. I cannot possibly link to dozens of homepages of every application that supports HTML or MPEG or AVI files, and few would want them all. If you do, my apologies.