● 01.05.07

●● Open XML: Can a 6,000-page History Book Become a Standard?

Posted in Formats, Microsoft, Novell, Open XML, OpenDocument, Standard at 3:12 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

BoyCottNovell has taken special interest in Microsoft’s use of Novell to empower support for its so-called standard, Open XML. You may wish to read the following long writeup from Rob Weir. He calls Open XML a “DNA sequence”.

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This is a running criticism I have of Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML). It has been narrowly crafted to accommodate a single vendor’s applications. Its extreme length (over 6,000 pages) stems from it having detailed every detail of MS Office in an inextensible, inflexible manner. This is not a specification; this is a DNA sequence. For example, take this part of the OOXML “Standard”: 2.15.3.6 autoSpaceLikeWord95 (Emulate Word 95 Full-Width Character Spacing)This element specifies that applications shall emulate the behavior of a previously existing word processing application (Microsoft Word 95) when determining the spacing between full-width East Asian characters in a document’s content.[...]2.15.3.26 footnoteLayoutLikeWW8 (Emulate Word 6.x/95/97 Footnote Placement)This element specifies that applications shall emulate the behavior of a previously existing word processing application (Microsoft Word 6.x/95/97) when determining the placement of the contents of footnotes relative to the page on which the footnote reference occurs. This emulation typically involves some and/or all of the footnote being inappropriately placed on the page following the footnote reference.

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Other related critiques:

Is Open XML a one way specification for most people?Why OpenOffice.org uses OpenDocumentMany more

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