In many comments I have read, people, especially from the FOSS community, have stated that OOXML is not really an open standard and that Microsoft controls the format.
The basics of the openness of a standard in the Intellectual Property (IP) rights. This breaks down into copyrights granted by rights to the author of a work and the patent rights which are granted to patentholders.
For OOXML is the copyrights are now in the hands of Ecma international which created and published the standard. Microsoft contributed to this but has no copyrights to the Ecma standard.
Ecma makes all it's standards available for free:
"Ecma Standards are made available to all interested persons or organizations, free of charge and copyright, in printed form and, as files in Acrobat ® PDF format."
So on the copyright side everything is covered and the standard is as open as it can be. So how about the patent rights. As a standard that originates from technology created by Microsoft the most likely party to have patents that are relevant to OOXML will be Microsoft. To make sure that the standard is not hampered by the burden of implementation which conflicts these possible patents Micrsoft has added a covenant not to sue and later added the Ecma standard to the covered formats of it's Open Specification Promise.
"Microsoft irrevocably promises not to assert any Microsoft Necessary Claims against you for making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing or distributing any implementation to the extent it conforms to a Covered Specification"
In software patents in general patent claims are the methods or system that implement an invention. So basically Microsoft cannot use it patent claim against anyone that requires their patented methods or systems to implements the OOXML format even for commercial use.
Opponent of OOXML has tried to raise the question of what it means that an implementation conforms to a specification but actually OOXML contains a section which clearly states what a conforming implementation is. Describing conformance is of course a matter for Ecma that controls the standard and is not up to Microsoft.
Another point that is often made is that Microsoft's release of its patent claim are not given for future version of the standard where it seems that Sun which has used a similar covenant not to sue on patent claims related to ODF has stated it to be for future versions as well. As the standard no longer belongs to Microsoft it would be very hard to make a statement about future versions of the standard unless they could control what exactly would be in the future versions.
But how about Sun then ?
Strangely enough Sun has made sure that it controls what is in next versions of the ODF standard. Sun's covenant not to sue hold a strange provision that makes sure that for quite a while to come their control over OpenDocument development is secured. Their CNS is limited to: "any subsequent version thereof ("OpenDocument Implementation") in which development Sun participates to the point of incurring an obligation". So Sun's covenant only applies to future version if they participate in development. So if Sun's does not like the development of ODF it can hold up the development of the standard until there is certainty that it does not violate any of sun's patents.
This is quite a big deal. Let's say that Microsoft were to start using ODF (as unlikely as it seems atm) and joined the OASIS TC to help adding an Office database format to ODF. But then Oracle buys up Sun and all it patents and they decide that they don't like a database format added to ODF. Then they could severely block any development and mayby halt the ODF development for years if not alltogehter. This makes it extremely unlikely that Microsoft will give full support to ODF while Sun still hold control over the development.
Because MS has not releases it's claims for future version it has similar control over OOXML as Sun does over ODF. However there is a big difference. Microsoft needs development of the Office format as it is vital to it's core business unlike for instance Sun or IBM.
They need a certain amount of control over the Office format development as if they did not have such control then their competitors would find it easy enough to stifle further development of MS Office technologies and make it easier to catch up.
For Microsoft to not develop newer versions of OOXML or even going back to a closed format in MS Office would be like shooting themselves if the foot.
To conclude I would say that OOXML is an open standard in almost the same way that ODF is open.
The advantage of ODF might be that it will have a broader group of development support (incl. Sun of course) whereas OOXML has the advantage that they have the market leader supporting any new development which can therefore be fairly quick and implementation of a new version can be very rapidly expanded to a wide customerbase which makes it interesting for commercial support.
The Wraith
18 February 2007
17 February 2007
OOXML hoax 1: The spec is too long.
The Office Open XML specification is around 6000 pages long compared to the OpenDocument specification which is only 800 pages long.
Issues are taken with the fact that it would be to long to implement by other parties and it would be to long for the ISO fasttracking procedure to evaluate the specification.
Firstly I will go into the fact that the spec would be to long to implement.
The OOXML specification is meant to support the features of the biggest Office application and be compatible with the billions of documents produced by that application in the last 15 years.
Ecma and Microsoft think that requires 6k pages. I think they are probably short.
No one can implement such a complex spec on just 6k pages.
Luckily they can use MS Office 2007 document as a reference.
But the ODF spec then with its 800 pages ?
A big advantage of the ODF spec is that they do not need truly faithful support for their existing documents as much as OOXML does with probably 99% of Office documents being created with MS Office. OOXML spends at least 1000 pages on compatibility especially with adding the VML spec.
Also the ODF spec isn't really 8800 pages to implement is it:
Here in the bottom of this article by Miquel de Icaza http://http//tirania.org/blog/archive/2007/Jan-30.html it suggests, with reusing several w3c standards and with OOXML using a bigger line spacing in the specs, that implementing ODF specs would cost almost the same amount of actual specification to be implemented as OOXML.
Let's face it. Building an complete Office application with all the trimming is a very very big task no matter what. It is unlikely that more than a few original application will ever exist that can fully use both ODF and OOXML formats and it takes big projects to make that happen. And I bet that any such project would rather have double the spec size to describe the specs even more precise than have less documentation to work with.
Secondly several parties notably IBM and Groklaw and claimed that the 6000 page OOXML spec cannot be evaluated by ISO national bodies in the short time of a fasttrack procedure.
Let's first look at the fasttrack procedure. How long is it ? The shortest possible time for a fasttrack procedure seems to be about 8,5 months with the average probably closer to a year if the standard is undisputed. Disputes can lenghten the time even more.
Still it would be quite a short time if everyone had to evaluate every page carefully for each little item on it. But is that necessary ? No, not really.
A fasttracking procedure is a procedure for a standard of existing technology. The standard is has been developed and maintained by a third party. It is not a brandnew developement that is unproven and does not require the same amount of scrutiny. Also in the period prior to the standardisation process ISO already advises the third party on how to make the standard acceptable for ISO standardization (ISO had a liaison in the Ecma technical committee for instance and the OOXML draft documents were already provided to ISO from may 2006 onwards).
Fasttracking is more a descisionmaking process than a development process.
In fasttracking ISO national bodies can look at the usefulness and the need for the standard, can look at if the standard does not contradict an ISO standard and the overall quality of the standard. Sometimes amendments/alterations /clarification might be suggested and can be made by the third party in charge of the standard.
Although there might be some minor issues it seems clear that the only really important question in the fasttracking proces of OOXML is whether this new standard contradicts the ODF ISO standard. For the minor issues Ecma can make alterations or give a road map in which versions and when the alteration can be made (similar to adding formula's in ODF mayby).
For the contradiction with ODF you do not need 6000 pages. You need to look only at some small parts of the specs specifying the essentials of the OOXML spec. In fact you need only look at the Part 1 (Fundamentals) and the part 3 (primer) parts of the specs to evaluate the specs for a decision making process. These parts (550 pages) describe the goals, the basic ideas of the specs, the conformance, in short everything to determine the need and usefulness of the standard format.
I think that the basic idea of the OOXML spec lies in continuation, stability and compatibility and in opening up the legacy office data. These are the powerful arguments that form the basis of the OOXML standardisation process. The should not be underestimated. Governments, organisations and companies and individuals have invested a lot in Office documents in the last 15 years.
The Wraith
Issues are taken with the fact that it would be to long to implement by other parties and it would be to long for the ISO fasttracking procedure to evaluate the specification.
Firstly I will go into the fact that the spec would be to long to implement.
The OOXML specification is meant to support the features of the biggest Office application and be compatible with the billions of documents produced by that application in the last 15 years.
Ecma and Microsoft think that requires 6k pages. I think they are probably short.
No one can implement such a complex spec on just 6k pages.
Luckily they can use MS Office 2007 document as a reference.
But the ODF spec then with its 800 pages ?
A big advantage of the ODF spec is that they do not need truly faithful support for their existing documents as much as OOXML does with probably 99% of Office documents being created with MS Office. OOXML spends at least 1000 pages on compatibility especially with adding the VML spec.
Also the ODF spec isn't really 8800 pages to implement is it:
Here in the bottom of this article by Miquel de Icaza http://http//tirania.org/blog/archive/2007/Jan-30.html it suggests, with reusing several w3c standards and with OOXML using a bigger line spacing in the specs, that implementing ODF specs would cost almost the same amount of actual specification to be implemented as OOXML.
Let's face it. Building an complete Office application with all the trimming is a very very big task no matter what. It is unlikely that more than a few original application will ever exist that can fully use both ODF and OOXML formats and it takes big projects to make that happen. And I bet that any such project would rather have double the spec size to describe the specs even more precise than have less documentation to work with.
Secondly several parties notably IBM and Groklaw and claimed that the 6000 page OOXML spec cannot be evaluated by ISO national bodies in the short time of a fasttrack procedure.
Let's first look at the fasttrack procedure. How long is it ? The shortest possible time for a fasttrack procedure seems to be about 8,5 months with the average probably closer to a year if the standard is undisputed. Disputes can lenghten the time even more.
Still it would be quite a short time if everyone had to evaluate every page carefully for each little item on it. But is that necessary ? No, not really.
A fasttracking procedure is a procedure for a standard of existing technology. The standard is has been developed and maintained by a third party. It is not a brandnew developement that is unproven and does not require the same amount of scrutiny. Also in the period prior to the standardisation process ISO already advises the third party on how to make the standard acceptable for ISO standardization (ISO had a liaison in the Ecma technical committee for instance and the OOXML draft documents were already provided to ISO from may 2006 onwards).
Fasttracking is more a descisionmaking process than a development process.
In fasttracking ISO national bodies can look at the usefulness and the need for the standard, can look at if the standard does not contradict an ISO standard and the overall quality of the standard. Sometimes amendments/alterations /clarification might be suggested and can be made by the third party in charge of the standard.
Although there might be some minor issues it seems clear that the only really important question in the fasttracking proces of OOXML is whether this new standard contradicts the ODF ISO standard. For the minor issues Ecma can make alterations or give a road map in which versions and when the alteration can be made (similar to adding formula's in ODF mayby).
For the contradiction with ODF you do not need 6000 pages. You need to look only at some small parts of the specs specifying the essentials of the OOXML spec. In fact you need only look at the Part 1 (Fundamentals) and the part 3 (primer) parts of the specs to evaluate the specs for a decision making process. These parts (550 pages) describe the goals, the basic ideas of the specs, the conformance, in short everything to determine the need and usefulness of the standard format.
I think that the basic idea of the OOXML spec lies in continuation, stability and compatibility and in opening up the legacy office data. These are the powerful arguments that form the basis of the OOXML standardisation process. The should not be underestimated. Governments, organisations and companies and individuals have invested a lot in Office documents in the last 15 years.
The Wraith
Why this blog ?
The last few months I have become increasingly annoyed by the disinformation spread about the office formats Office Open XML (OOXML) and OpenDocument (ODF). Especially the enormous amount of poor information about Office Open XML is staggering so I guess a bit of the focus will be on providing information on OOXML.
In what seems to have become format war between IBM, Sun and FOSS vs Microsoft I will try to add that is what I think is a more moderate view on what is really going on with the formats.
In this blog I will try to write about some of the issues that I have come across in the information campaigns about the formats leading up to the standardisation of the Office document formats by ISO.
Is the information I provide biased ?
Yes, it probably will be a bit. At the moment especially OOXML received a lot of unjust criticism and I will certainly try to give a more positive look on OOXML than what is written by the people from IBM and Sun.
The Wraith
In what seems to have become format war between IBM, Sun and FOSS vs Microsoft I will try to add that is what I think is a more moderate view on what is really going on with the formats.
In this blog I will try to write about some of the issues that I have come across in the information campaigns about the formats leading up to the standardisation of the Office document formats by ISO.
Is the information I provide biased ?
Yes, it probably will be a bit. At the moment especially OOXML received a lot of unjust criticism and I will certainly try to give a more positive look on OOXML than what is written by the people from IBM and Sun.
The Wraith
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