Opportunity Knocks

An open format creates new opportunities for implementation on a multitude of platforms and business models.  Such is the case with Thinkfree, a South Korean software developer.  Eric White interviewed Jae Hyun Park, the CTO of Thinkfree a while back, and what makes this particular case noteworthy are the following characteristics of their product:

• Architecture: Web application
• Business model: advertising (powered by Google AdSense). 
• Platform: Linux, Apache, Sun Microsystems Java, web browser (Firefox, IE, Safari).
• File formats: Open XML and others

Progressive companies that are looking for opportunities to create new products and services have embraced Open XML.  Thinkfree is one of many software developers in the Open XML community that are delivering innovative solutions to their customers and building on the value proposition inherent in an open format.

Open XML meets the needs of a wide range of implementations because it accommodates multiple platforms.  Eric followed up with more information on what makes Open XML cross-platform including some highlights:

I've made a short list of the various ways that Open XML embodies good cross-platform design:

• Open XML is based on standards that have been implemented on many platforms: XML and Unicode.
• Open XML is based on the widely deployed ZIP file format, as documented in the PKWARE specification. Open XML only uses the DEFLATE decompression method, which the first and most commonly implemented compression method for ZIP files.
• Several countries wanted improved interoperability with existing W3C standards by eliminating dependencies on specific Web browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Apple Safari. In the BRM, it was proposed to have a mechanism where applications can customize content for browsers according to their support for different levels of W3C HTML, XHTML, and CSS content.
• Some people falsely believed that the spec was tied to COM.  However, object embedding and linking is implementable on multiple platforms.  The KParts example that I posted demonstrates that object embedding and linking is actually quite easy. Some schema processors are not fully compliant with the specification. The Open XML reference schemas were tweaked so that they could be accommodate a broad set of platforms.
• Beyond that, Open XML allows for schema languages other than XSD for the validation of Custom XML and Structured Document Tags.  Specification conformant Open XML can be validated using RELAX NG, Schematron, and NVDL schemas.

On the path to standardization of DIS 29500 I have observed two types of technical discussions.  I have met many talented engineers that genuinely want to improve the specification so that it can meet their needs.  They have made an invaluable contribution to the evolution of the specification.  I have also met those that use technical arguments in order to suppress adoption.  I think for most readers it is fairly transparent which of the two keeps looking for reasons not to implement Open XML.

In the meantime, agile developers like Thinkfree continue to innovate.  Opportunity waits for no one.