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Harmonizing ODF and OOXML using NameSpaces | Tim Bray's Thought Experiment

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:18:24 -0000

Comments:

This log is connected to a recent post from Florian Reuter, XML Namespaces are designed to support exactly this kind of thing ... posted by garyedwards

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

First, what if Microsoft really is doing the right thing? Second, how can we avoid having two incompatible file formats? [Update: There’s been a lot of reaction to this piece, and I addressed some of those points here.]

On the technology side, the two formats are really more alike than they are different. But, there are differences: O12X’s design center, Microsoft has said repeatedly, is capturing the exact semantics of the billions of existing Microsoft Office documents. ODF’s design center is general-purpose reusability, and leveraging existing standards like SVG and MathML and so on.

The capabilities of ODF and O12X are essentially identical for all this basic stuff. So why in the flaming hell does the world need two incompatible formats to express it? The answer, obviously, is, “it doesn’t”.

The ideal outcome would be a common shared office-XML dialect for the basics—and it should be ODF (or a subset), since that’s been designed and debugged—then another extended vocabulary to support Microsoft features , whether they’re cool new whizzy features or mouldy old legacy features (XML Namespaces are designed to support exactly this kind of thing). That way, if you stayed with the basic stuff you’d never need to worry about software lock-in; the difference between portable and proprietary would be crystal-clear. And, for the basic stuff that everybody uses, there’d be only one set of tags.

This outcome is technically feasible. Who could possibly be against it?

Tags: bray florian-reuter namespaces odf ooxml opendocument openxml

Posted by: garyedwards

[office] The infamous list-override list enhancement proposal

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:01:29 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Well, I think the problem we face is that there are different interpretations of the 1.1 specification regarding the numbering of numbered paragraphs that have different list styles assigned. We therefore cannot say that the one or the other proposal is backward-compatible to the ODF 1.1 specification regarding the number or the style. We can only say whether it is backward-compatible to a certain _interpretation_ of the ODF 1.1 specification regarding the number or the style.

Tags: application-specific florian-reuter foundation list-enhancement michael-brauer oasis-odf odf opendocument openoffice

Posted by: garyedwards

Issue 51726: OpenOffice ODF Graphics Nightmare

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:01:29 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Currently, the above given specification is a draft and has to be adjusted. Beside the change of the context menu and the navigator it's is needed to adjust the import of the XML file formats (OpenDocument and OpenOffice.org) and the export to the OpenOffice.org file format. The import needs adjustment, because the existence of name is used to distinguish Writer graphics/text boxes and Draw graphics/text boxes. The new criterium is now, that Draw graphics/text boxes of Writer documents doesn't have a parent style. The export to the OpenOffice.org file format needs adjustment, because a Writer document in the OpenOffice.org file format doesn't contain names for shapes.

The EU DIN effort to harmonize or merge ODF and OOXML has uncovered some incredible inconsistencies in OpenOffice ODF tht will break interop every time, guaranteed. This particular issue has to do with problems naming graphics, and the hack solution now in use. It's hacks like this that make it impossible to convert MSOffice binaries to ODF. posted by garyedwards

Tags: application-specific din florian-reuter graphics odf openoffice

Posted by: garyedwards

The French AFNOR Proposal to Merge ODF and MS-OOXML

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:00:52 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Summary Statement: Hey, this is an excellent plan! We can fully support this effort, even though the ISO National Bodies still have to work their way through the treacherous big vendor consortia controlled channels of OASIS ODF and Ecma 376. Bringing the big vendor applications to heel is not going to be easy. Merging ODF and MS-OOXML however is a worthwhile effort - one that the conversion and translator plug-in communities have been working on for the past three years! It can be done! And all it takes is five generic elements added to the existing ODF 1.2 specification ........

Tags: cdf ecma florian-reuter interop iso oasis odf ooxml

Posted by: garyedwards