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OpenDocument: Open Document Foundation closes
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Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:52 am Reply and quote this post
The OpenDocument format (ODF, ISO/IEC 26300, full name: OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications) is a file format for electronic office documents, such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents.

The standard was developed by the Open Office XML technical committee of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) consortium and based on the XML format originally created and implemented by the OpenOffice.org office suite (see OpenOffice.org XML). As well as an OASIS Standard, it is a published ISO and IEC International Standard, ISO/IEC 26300:2006.[1] The OpenDocument standard meets the common definitions of an open standard, meaning the specification is freely available and implementable.

The most common filename extensions used for OpenDocument documents are:


  •     * .odt for word processing (text) documents
  •     * .ods for spreadsheets
  •     * .odp for presentations
  •     * .odg for graphics
  •     * .odf for formulae, mathematical equations



The OpenDocument Foundation, a little-known industry group that wasoriginally created to promote the OpenDocument Format (ODF), has closedits doors after controversially dropping support for ODF in favor of anobscure W3C format.
Arstechnica Stories...

                                                                           
The OpenDocument Foundation's core members included OASIS ODFtechnical committee member Gary Edwards, OpenOffice.org marketing leadSam Hiser, and Paul Martin—a Groklaw writer and legal expert betterknown as Marbux. The group was working on a document format conversionsystem that aimed to provide optimal compatibility between existingMicrosoft Office documents and ODF. The group never completed itsconversion system, citing technical issues with ODF—specifically theformat's inability to retain unsupported metadata.
The group voiced criticismof ODF last month, claiming that the format was encumbered by patentsheld by Sun and was designed in a manner that isn't conducive tointeroperability with existing document formats. The group began toadvocate adoption of the W3C's Compound Document Format, which isspecified in the Web Integration Compound Document Core 1.0 draft.As we pointed out last month, CDF doesn't support the full range offunctionality required for office compatibility, but its extensive useof existing formats like XHTML and SVG is a compelling advantage.

TheOpenDocument Foundation has been accused of complicity with Microsoftin a scheme to undermine support for ODF, an allegation that is unsubstantiated and appears to be without merit. In fact, the group hasbeen a vocal critic of Microsoft's competing Office Open XML format.The OpenDocument Foundation's opposition to ODF and OOXML was largely based on concerns that the formats lack vendor-neutrality and may have undisclosed intellectual property implications that detract from their openness. The group saw CDF as having the potential to become a neutral data exchange format that was truly created by consensus and wasn't tailored to any specific product.
Unfortunately CDF isn't designed to meet the requirements espoused by the OpenDocument Foundation. In fact, W3C's Chris Lilley says that CDF is currently only good for displaying documents (not editing)and that it was never intended to be used as an office document format.
The OpenDocument Foundation has ceased operations in the wake of the controversy. The heated debate over open document formats continues to escalate, even as businesses in North America exhibit utter apathy about XML-based standards for documents. Despite the raging controversy, PDF remains the single most ubiquitous document format used in industry. As the controversy continues to unfold, it's likely that Microsoft's format will win by default, simply because it's tied to the most popular office software.


  • OpenDocument 1.0 (second edition)is the published ISO/IEC 26300:2006 standard. It also has the status ofa Committee Specification in OASIS. It includes all the editorialchanges made to address JTC1 ballot comments, and as such it reflectsthe approved ISO/IEC 26300:2006 standard, as published by ISO and IEC.It is available in ODT, HTML and PDF formats.
  • OpenDocument 1.1 was approved by OASIS on October 19, 2006. It includes additional features to address accessibility concerns. The Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) Specification v1.1 was approved as an OASIS Standard on 2007-02-01 following a call for vote issued on 2007-01-16.] The public announcement was made on 2007-02-13.
  • OpenDocument 1.2 is currently being written by the ODF TC. It willinclude additional accessibility features, metadata enhancements,spreadsheet formula specification based on the OpenFormulawork (ODF 1.0 did not specify spreadsheet formulae in detail, leavingmany aspects implementation-defined) as well as any errata submitted bythe public. Originally OpenDocument 1.2 was expected by October 2007.


  • OpenDocument Encourages use of OpenDocument.
  • OpenDocument FellowshipVolunteer organization with members around the world to promote theadoption, use and development of the OpenDocument format. (offlinesince Fall 2007)
  • OpenDocument Format AllianceThe alliance works globally to educate policymakers, IT administratorsand the public on the benefits and opportunities of the OpenDocumentFormat, to help ensure that government information, records anddocuments are accessible across platforms and applications, even astechnologies change today and in the future.
  • OpenDocument XML.org The official community gathering place and information resource for the OpenDocument OASIS Standard (ISO/IEC 26300).
  • OASIS OpenDocument Technical Committee coordinates the OpenDocument development and is the official source for specifications, schemas, etc.
Will Microsoft Benefit?
ZDNet wrote:

IBM, Sun Microsystems, Google and other ODF backers are continuingin their campaign to fight OOXML. Microsoft is pushing for standardsrecognition for OOXML, in large part, so that Office 2007, which usesOOXML as its default file format, will qualify on lucrative governmentand commercial IT contracts that call for “open,” “standards-based” products.The pro-ODF camp is trying to thwart OOXML in the hopes of gaining moremarket share for StarOffice, OpenOffice, Google DOcs & Spreadsheetsand other products that compete with Microsoft Office. Office still hasmore than 90 percent of the Windows desktop-productivity-suite market.
There are some who think the OpenDocument Foundation’s passing won’t matter.But I maintain the public splintering of the ODF community isdefinitely creating confusion from which OOXML is likely to benefit.What do you think: Will the OpenDocument Foundation’s death have anyimpact on OOXML’s future, one way or the other?

Contributed by Editorial Team, Executive Management Team
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