Microsoft's Open XML format has won ECMA approval
Microsoft's Open XML format has won ECMA approval as a standard, giving Redmond, so often the opponent of open-source software, a better footing to compete with OpenOffice.org's OpenDocument Format (ODF).
Geneva-based ECMA, formerly known by its full name, the European Computer Manufacturers Association, promotes standards that let different hardware and software platforms share data, regardless of what company made them. Open XML is Microsoft's foray into the open-format world and the default format for Office 2007. It saves documents in XML (Extensible Markup Language) with Zip compression technologies, not the formats that Microsoft used in prior versions of Office.
As a result -- and because Microsoft will not demand royalties for using Open XML -- software from other publishers will be able to read Office documents saved in Open XML. Both Corel, which makes the WordPerfect suite of business tools, and Novell, which offers a version of OpenOffice.org, have announced support for Open XML. Only IBM , also an ECMA member, voted against Open XML as a standard, claiming the format is too complex for true multivendor use.
Open-Source Competition
Famous (and sometimes infamous) for guarding the inner workings of its software, Microsoft's decision to publish the basic format of Office documents comes when a growing number of industries, not to mention a vocal set of government agencies, have called for document archives to be saved in a standard format that would be compatible with future document-creation software.
Among the most famous of these advocates is Massachusetts, whose former CIO loudly espoused the use of ODF but later resigned after backlash over his decision.
ODF is the default format of OpenOffice.org, an open-source group of programs that has slowly won users away from Microsoft. OpenOffice, which is free, includes Writer (a word processor), Calc (a spreadsheet program), and Impress (for slides and other presentations). It also includes Base, a database analogous to Microsoft's Access, and Draw, a graphics program.
"Microsoft's Office franchise is threatened very directly by OpenOffice," said Forrester senior analyst Michael Goulde, who noted that Open XML is an attempt to compete directly with ODF.
Open XML not only lets other software platforms read Microsoft Office documents, but also offers users other, lesser-known perks, such as smaller documents and the chance to extract data from a document even if part of the file is corrupt. In prior versions of Office, even minute amounts of corruption could render a document completely useless.
Geneva-based ECMA, formerly known by its full name, the European Computer Manufacturers Association, promotes standards that let different hardware and software platforms share data, regardless of what company made them. Open XML is Microsoft's foray into the open-format world and the default format for Office 2007. It saves documents in XML (Extensible Markup Language) with Zip compression technologies, not the formats that Microsoft used in prior versions of Office.
As a result -- and because Microsoft will not demand royalties for using Open XML -- software from other publishers will be able to read Office documents saved in Open XML. Both Corel, which makes the WordPerfect suite of business tools, and Novell, which offers a version of OpenOffice.org, have announced support for Open XML. Only IBM , also an ECMA member, voted against Open XML as a standard, claiming the format is too complex for true multivendor use.
Open-Source Competition
Famous (and sometimes infamous) for guarding the inner workings of its software, Microsoft's decision to publish the basic format of Office documents comes when a growing number of industries, not to mention a vocal set of government agencies, have called for document archives to be saved in a standard format that would be compatible with future document-creation software.
Among the most famous of these advocates is Massachusetts, whose former CIO loudly espoused the use of ODF but later resigned after backlash over his decision.
ODF is the default format of OpenOffice.org, an open-source group of programs that has slowly won users away from Microsoft. OpenOffice, which is free, includes Writer (a word processor), Calc (a spreadsheet program), and Impress (for slides and other presentations). It also includes Base, a database analogous to Microsoft's Access, and Draw, a graphics program.
"Microsoft's Office franchise is threatened very directly by OpenOffice," said Forrester senior analyst Michael Goulde, who noted that Open XML is an attempt to compete directly with ODF.
Open XML not only lets other software platforms read Microsoft Office documents, but also offers users other, lesser-known perks, such as smaller documents and the chance to extract data from a document even if part of the file is corrupt. In prior versions of Office, even minute amounts of corruption could render a document completely useless.
posted by Kintu at
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