'Using Java to crack Office 2007'

This is the title of a very interesting article by Ted Neward . The title may sound a little bit like something you find down those dark alleys on the web where various exploits and vulnerabilities are discussed but this is actually a very clever article that describes the very real benefits of Office 2007’s use of the ECMA Open XML standard for storing office application files.

Some interesting comments from the author ....

“All in all, the Java/Office story was, to put it mildly, a pretty ugly situation. Java developers either put up with it, consoled themselves in a manner highly reminiscent of one of Aesop's Fables by saying that "Office sucks, anyway, why would anyone want to use it?", or simply told their Office-using customers that Java couldn't understand Office because of the Microsoft/Sun lawsuit. With Office 2007, Microsoft has, without a doubt, made a significant part of these problems "go away".

Even if you are not into Java this article is worth a read because it explains how programmers can use well known technologies including plain old XML parsers to read, modify and save Office 2007 files without having to resort to COM and other approaches.

The article can be viewed here.