Types of digital graphics used to create digital images

Graphics are visual presentations on a surface, such as a computer screen. Examples are photographs, drawing, graphics designs, maps or other images

Vector graphics

Vector graphics is the use of polygons, lines, curves, shapes and points to make images on computers.  Vector graphics are based on vectors (also called paths, or strokes) which lead through locations called control points. Vector graphics consists in encoding information about shapes and colors that comprise the image, which can allow for more flexibility in rendering.

One of the first uses of vector graphic displays was the US SAGE air defense system. Vector graphics systems were only retired from U.S. en route air traffic control in 1999, and are  still in use in military and specialized systems.

common file formats for vector graphics .cgm, .svg, .odg, .eps, .xml

Popular vector drawing programs- 
• Adobe Illustrator 
• CorelDRAW 
• Xara Xtreme 
• Serif DrawPlus

this image was produced using vector graphics

This image show the quality between Vector and Bitmap

(wikipedia) 

Bitmap Graphics

 Graphics are a type of digital image that uses tiny rectangular pixels, or picture elements, arranged in a grid formation to represent an image. 

Bitmap  graphics has origins in television technology, with images constructed    like the pictures on a TV  screen. A bitmap graphic is made up of a collection of tiny, uniformly sized pixels, which are arranged in a two-dimensional grid made up of columns and rows. Each pixel contains one or more bits of information, depending on the degree of detail in the image.

A black-and-white image contains only one bit per pixel while an image with shading and colour  contains about 24 bits of information per pixel. The number of bits stored in each pixel is known as the colour depth. 

The File extensions for raster graphics are: .BMP, .TIF, .GIF, .JPG. Enlarging a bitmap image causes it to look blocky and pixelated which is why vector graphics are used for wanting good close up detail. Bitmap images are resolution dependent.Bitmap images are displayed on your computer screen at screen resolution: approximately 100 ppi. 

Popular bitmap editing programs- 
• Microsoft Paint • Adobe Photoshop • Corel Photo-Paint • Corel Paint Shop Pro • The GIMP

Bitmap v Vector

Bitmap images are ideal for photographic images as they are real unlike vector which is more suitable for things like making company logos and cartoons as when they are zoomed in they do not loose quality. another thing that should be considered is file size. because bitmap images have to save every pixel they are large files unlike vector which doesn't take up so much room as the computer just saves the details of objects.