On Tue, 2006-12-12 at 15:02 +0100, Stefano Maffulli wrote:
On Tue, 2006-12-12 at 11:35 +0000, Alex Hudson wrote:
OpenDocument cannot represent all the features of an OXML file (e.g., some types of page break).
does anybody know if there is a feature comparison between the two standards, ODF and OOXML?
There isn't one which is up-to-date (some were written for previous OXML drafts). In general, there isn't a lot more complexity per se in OXML - there's a lot more detail in the spec., but the only really significant feature additions are the declaration of a formula syntax and basic functionality, and the design for import of HTML/RTF/etc. built into the format.
http://odf-converter.sourceforge.net/blog/ and the associated test documents are one of the best places to find the interoperability differences (e.g., features that are difficult to convert from one to another).
Also, is there a legal analysis of how safe Microsoft's standard is safe to implement in free software? I know SFLC analised ODF (here are the results http://www.softwarefreedom.org/publications/OpenDocument.html).
Not one that I would trust. Some people say it's fine, others say it's not. In particular, I don't think anyone has analysed it since MS made available the Open Specification Promise, although many people started implementing OXML since before then.
It would be nice for someone like SFLC to actually have a look. If you do a side-by-side with the Sun patent agreement, there isn't a huge heap of difference.
Cheers,
Alex.