Victory for OOXML Document Format
Techtree News Staff, Apr 02, 2008 1524 hrs IST
The votes are in, and Microsoft's OOXML file format turns out to be the new international standard.
After more than 14 months of review, the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) have approved ISO/IEC DIS 29500, Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) file format as an international standard.
Open XML is a platform-independent open standard for word-processing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets to help ensure that older files are readable even if the program used to create them has changed significantly.
With this, OOXML joins the band wagon of HTML, PDF, and ODF as an ISO- and IEC-recognized open-document format standard.
While the final vote has not yet been announced formally, publicly available information appears to indicate that the proposed Open XML standard has received extremely broad support. The decision has been made public on the Web site of a European standards organization, Ecma International, while ISO is expected to do the same today.
In the midst of this, there are some critics who still remain unsatisfied due to OOXML locking out competitors and once again, Microsoft will leave customers with no choice but continue to buy its programs for a long time ahead.
However, the responsibility for the OOXML format has been handed over to Ecma International, a European standards body.
Earlier in September 2007, the OOXML got less than the required two-thirds of votes in the second round of voting. However, Microsoft managed to convince Denmark, Ireland, Norway, South Korea, and the UK to adopt their format by launching an intensive lobbying campaign. Meanwhile, India, China and Brazil continued with their opposition to the format becoming a norm.
USER COMMENTS
"There are some critics who still remain unsatisfied due to OOXML locking out competitors and once again, Microsoft will leave customers with no choice but continue to buy its programs for a long time ahead. " You have phrased the issue very well. The main cause of resistance against OOXML is the inclusion of features which only Microsoft can implement. Proprietary features are fine in products, but they have no place in international standards. Throughout the OOXML editing process Microsoft had opportunities to remove the technical restrictions which prevent others from fully implementing the standard. Instead they chose political means to fast track DIS 29500 though the process without complete discussion.
by dfarning, onalaska, on Apr 03, 2008 09:31 AM, Report abuse Reply
BULL SHIT!! I didnt expect this from you ISO..
by Open Source Fan, Open Source, on Apr 02, 2008 11:18 PM, Report abuse Reply
I guess ISO standard no longer means anything...
by Maciej, Oxford, on Apr 02, 2008 05:42 PM, Report abuse Reply
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There are enough standards out there that don't require Microsoft compliance. If you're that concerned about having to buy MS products, you should explore other options. Plus, most of them are free, too!
by Sumant, Mumbai, on Apr 03, 2008 11:27 AM, Report abuse Reply