A posting from Steve Snell announces the release of the Adobe SVG Viewer Version 3.0. This new version of the browser plugin better supports the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.0 specification and adds frequently-requested features for developers. Adobe SVG Viewer V3.0 also adds support for Windows XP and Mac OS X. A new Airbus demo, created by US Airways, "provides an excellent example of the use of SVG to create interactive Smart Graphics. A new Chemical Markup Language demo shows the true versatility of SVG: data stored in another XML-related language, CML (Chemical Markup Language), is manipulated via XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) to create SVG. The new script engine in V3.0 allows self-contained JavaScript scripts to run inside SVG files embedded in hosts that don't support a bridge between plug-ins and the host script engine, including Internet Explorer on the Mac. Adobe SVG 3.0 Viewer will be available in 15 languages and is distributed with Adobe Acrobat Reader."

Version 3.0 support for SVG elements/attributes, CSS, and DOM:

Elements and attributes. V3.0 has support for the following elements: color-profile, marker, title, and view; full support for the switch element; support for the general requiredFeatures and systemLanguage attributes; the image element now supports links to SVG files.

CSS properties. V3.0 has support for the following CSS properties: color-interpolation-filters, color-profile, marker, marker-end, marker-mid, marker-start; support for the @media CSS rule, and the media attribute for style elements. The values all, screen, and print are supported.

DOM support. V3.0 has support for the SVGMatrix class; support for the getCTM, getElementsByTagNameNS, and getBBox methods.

Adobe SVG Viewer 3.0 Demos include:

• Airbus: Created by US Airways, this proof-of-concept is an excellent example of the use of SVG to create interactive Smart Graphics.
• Chemical Markup Language: This demo shows the true versatility of SVG. Data stored in another XML-related language, CML (Chemical Markup Language), is manipulated via XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) to create to SVG.
• Visual Building Search: A considerable advance from your typical phone directory application, this demo allows you to search for a person, view building floor plans, plan routes, and print crystal clear maps.
• Chart and Graph: See how SVG manages and displays data, generating SVG code on the fly. This demo also integrates related technologies, including ECMA/JavaScript, HTML, and the Document Object Model (DOM).
• Fluent Solutions/Adobe Theater: This is a prototype of a data-driven, enterprise-class server application. Find out how SVG is easily integrated with other applications, including Web and database servers.
• Reflections: Created by Republik One, this demo uses filter and text effects to present personal reflections inspired by the passage of the seasons.
• SVG Draw: This demo is a page markup program that serves as the basis of code for annotating another SVG graphic. Not only is it written with SVG, but the generated image is also SVG.

SVG description from the Adobe SVG Zone:

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a new graphics file format and Web development language based on XML. SVG enables Web developers and designers to create dynamically generated, high-quality graphics from real-time data with precise structural and visual control. With this powerful new technology, SVG developers can create a new generation of Web applications based on data-driven, interactive, and personalized graphics. Because it is written in XML, SVG content can be linked to back-end business processes such as e-commerce systems, corporate databases, and other rich sources of real-time information...SVG creates powerful, dynamic content because it tightly integrates front-end graphics to back-end business processes and data including e-commerce systems, corporate databases, and other rich sources of information. SVG files use existing and proven Web standards such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Extensible Style Sheet Language so that graphics can be easily customized...By dynamically changing image attributes, SVG eliminates the need for numerous image files. For example, a navigation button that normally requires a minimum of two raster files can be replaced by a single SVG file -- rollover states and behaviors are specified via easily scriptable attributes such as color, shape, size, text, or opacity. And because SVG is text based, production teams can utilize version control systems to track and manage all changes made to a file... In a traditional Web workflow, content (data), presentation (graphics), and application logic (scripting) are developed sequentially. If a change is made to content after a project is complete, entire graphics must often be re-created. SVG separates these three elements, allowing them to be developed in parallel, reducing development time and distributing the work more efficiently. By separating such workflow elements, SVG enables developers to develop and designers to design.

By combining SVG with existing Web technologies like HTML, JavaScript, DOM (Document Object Model), Java, or Visual Basic, developers can create extremely rich interactive graphics. Any SVG graphic element can modify or control any other SVG or HTML element or object. For example, mousing over a list of part numbers in an HTML table can highlight an illustration of that part in an accompanying SVG assembly diagram. Sophisticated user interfaces or even full-blown online applications can be created with SVG. Because SVG is text based, the text inside graphics can be translated for other geographies quickly, often collapsing localization efforts to days instead of weeks. SVG content can be targeted to people to overcome issues of culture, accessibility, and aesthetics. SVG has the flexibility to make content tailored to all users, no matter how the users are interacting with the content (via desktop browser, PDA, mobile phone, etc.). The overall goal is to have a single source file, which transforms gracefully in a wide variety of situations.