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20 Feb 07

EOOXML objections - Grokdoc

www.grokdoc.net/...EOOXML_objections - Preview

ecma eooxml imported:del.icio.us iso jtc-1 microsft mooxml oasis odf

Marbux has done some heroic work here, using the GrokDoc Wiki. The Title is "EOOXML Objections", and it's primary purpose is to help ISO National Body Memebers evaluate the 0ver 6,000 pages of the Microsoft - ECMA Office Open XML Specification for MSOffice.

On January 5th, 2007, Microsoft officially submitted EOOXML to ISO under the fast track rules. Before EOOXML can hit the fast track though, ISO provides members with a 30 day "Contradition Review Phase". During this brief phase, ISO NB's (national standards body members) muct evaluate the proposal and post their allegations concerning contradictions and inconsistencies with other ISO products - like ODF.

What Marbux is assembling here is a one stop shop for ISO NB's strugglign to understand the issues at stake. It's incredible wha the has accomplished in such a short time. But then, the clock is ticking. February 5th is a hard and unmovable deadline.

The basic contradiction is thatt EOOXML is a subset of ISO existing product, ODF. Both attempt to do the exact same thing: provide an XML file format for desktop productivity environments such as MSOffice, OpenOffice, and WordPerfect Office. What seriously differentiates the two is that ODF was designed expressly to be a universal file format, application and platform independent, able to transition across many different information domains connecting the legacy of desktop productivity to near everything else. MOOXML on the other hand was designed for MSOffice and the legacy of billions of binary documents that only Micrsoft knows the secrets to converting to XML. As such, MOOXML is designed to be application and platform bound, with these proprietary dependencies written right into the specification.

One of the more important elements of the Marbux arguments is that the OpenDocument Foundation's daVinci Plugin and InfoSet Engine - API prove conclusively that Micrsoft could have just as easily used ODF aas MOOXML with MSOffice and their legacy binaries. It's important because the entire justification Micrsosft gives for having rejected ODF and embarked on the twisted beyond comprehension MOOXML is that they claim ODF is inadequate and unable to handle both the advanced features of MSOffice and the legacy billions of binaries. daVinci-InfoSet prove this isn't so.

- garyedwards on 2007-01-14