What Does File Format Mean?

A file format refers to the way data are arranged logically within a file. File formatting allows a program to retrieve data, correctly interpret the information and continue with processing.

Techopedia Explains File Format

A file format includes the data encoding process, which ideally minimizes the required storage space. For example, picture and video encoding contain embedded processes like compression, where a picture is divided into pixels. A correlation is then derived to express pixel relationships. In this case, the difference between neighboring pixels is minimal, resulting in the addition of few differential data.