[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Common Word Processing Format
On Fri, 2005-12-02 at 10:08 -0800, Michael Champion wrote: > >Of an office format is too complex for your need, then of course I > >wouldn't advocate it. My point is that reducing all use cases to XHTML > >is just as bad. > > > At least as I understand Len's point (from the XML 2005 townhall) the > problem is that real people have a need for real document format standards > that are really supported and really open TODAY. What MS will do in Office > 12 (or what can be done in Office 11 with some user training) , and what > could be done in ODF once the little detail of deployment and conversion and > training is out of the way, is not very helpful to people with the problem > now. (X)HTML is good enough for a *lot* of these use cases, is univerally > supported, and both a de facto and formal standard. So what's wrong with > it? Umm, don't you have the same deployment and conversion issue with XHTML? > 1) It's easy for easy things but very hard for hard things. > 2) It is a classic "worse is better" solution which makes geeks gag. Since when did geeks gag at worse-is-better? Geeks *invented* worse-is-better. I'm sorry, but you're being *way* too general here. Using XHTML to represent a CV is worse-is-better, and it makes sense to me. Using XHTML to for the entire class of office documents could also be considered worse-is-better but it sure as hell does not make sense to me. There are shades of worse-is-better, so the expression is not much use in this conversation. > 3) It doesn't strike a blow against the Empire. Huh? What empire? What are you on about? > OK, but: > > 1) Most of the stuff that really has to be authored and read by anyone, > anytime fits within HTML, as shown by its dominance on the Web. And have you checked with real users whether they prefer Office apps or Web authoring apps? > 2) Call it "disruptive innovation" and the suits will be happy, and they > make the decisions. No comment on buzzword bingo. > 3) The Empire is going to support whatever it has to support to make a buck, > don't kid yourself. ODF might scratch the black armor a bit, not cut off > Darth's breathing apparatus, even *if* it proliferates rapidly. Are you talking to me? In my post I posited that *Microsoft* Office XML alongside ODF as a better approach for office docs than XHTML. > I (and my little core of the Empire) would be very happy if this scenario > doen't play out, but custom schemas and even free-form XML markup > proliferate. Diversity and customization of markup just creates more demand > for the stuff that most of us build or explain. But I'm not going to hold my > breath. Umm. If you haven't noticed. Creating custom XML vocabularies is the *norm* in IT, not the exception. I wouldn't hold my breath that everyone is going to ditch MyDepartmentML in favor of XHTML everywhere, and I'm glad for that. -- Uche Ogbuji Fourthought, Inc. http://uche.ogbuji.net http://fourthought.com http://copia.ogbuji.net http://4Suite.org Articles: http://uche.ogbuji.net/tech/publications/
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