feedMicrosoft Discovers XML
Microsoft is opening up its file formats and letting XML inside. One can almost hear them warning us, though, in their announcements:
BetaNews | Microsoft to 'Open' Office File Formats: "When faced with the decision of adopting open standards or remaining proprietary, Microsoft opted to preserve the 'full fidelity' of past Office functionality and instead developed its own 'open' XML-based format. In saying that the format is 'open' Microsoft acquiesces to the state of Massachusetts. Under the state's 'Open Standards' policy, a format is open if it is fully documented and anyone can use it."In other words, though the format will be 'open,' their XML isn't a standard XML format. Let's hope it's isn't a sub-standard XML format. I'm not holding my breath. In the mean time, I'll likely be using OpenOffice by the time they end up releasing it. Technorati Tags: XML, Microsoft, Standards, Office, OfficeOpenXML, OpenOffice, OASIS, XMLSpecification
