OpenDocument has been granted ISO certification

ISO has just recognized OpenDocument format (ODF), an XML-based programming interface and competes directly with the Microsoft Office proprietary office application package, which is an official document standard.

ODF is currently used in the StarOffice package and the open-source OpenOffice version of Sun Microsystems. Microsoft has intended to "crack down" ODF with OfficeXML - a free document format and developed on XML.

The ODF Alliance, founded almost two months ago and comprised of 150 members, has repeatedly made calls to accelerate the ISO certification process. Microsoft Office has been the unofficial standard for office documents such as documents and spreadsheets . for over 10 years. However, organizations that support ODF say that popular documents need to be built in a neutral format and users are not required to buy copyrighted software to read the data.

" The new ISO decision will help governments solve all problems and find the best way to maintain, access and control documents in the future, " said Marino Marcich, ODF Alliance CEO. determined. He said he will continue to mobilize state agencies to acknowledge ODF as the official standard on the desktop.

However, analysts say ODF's victory only has a significant effect in poor countries. In the developed world, the seizure of the government's support is not a big event as it is only a very small part. ISO certificates do not guarantee that business users will generally give up Microsoft Office.

Besides, despite its monopoly, Microsoft has actually helped businesses operate more gently. Anyone who has spent the first decade of desktop computing can also recall different companies using different word processing and spreadsheet software systems. Therefore, data at that time can only be exchanged after printing.

Tom Rabon, deputy director of Red Hat, the co-founder of the ODF alliance, believes the ISO move will contribute to Linux's expansion on the desktop. " The new certificate does not mean we will immediately thrive, but it will help us stay on the right track ."

PT