Do we need two ISO standards for document format? - Part 2

Back in May 2006, soon after ISO (International Organization for Standardization) recognized ODF (OpenDocument Format) as an ISO International Standard (now designated ISO/IEC 26300:2006), I asked a question: "Do we need two ISO standards for document format?" I ran a poll then -- okay, okay, only 11 people had responded (till this time of writing),  10 voting "Oh, tidak!" ("Oh, no!") and 1 voting "Bagus tu, ya" ("Good, yes"). I think you may still vote if you go back to the poll in that post.

It is Deccember 2006 now, and last week this second standard for document format, the Microsoft Office Open XML (OOXML) standard officially became Ecma standard 376 in record time (link, thanks to Rob Weir).

I echo saying that it is a rubber stamping exercise of approving a legacy closed format re-written into an "open" standard in XML. Ecma will soon proceed submitting it to ISO for it to become an international standard, but I maintain what I said in May that ISO should just stick to one document format standard: the ODF ISO/IEC 26300:2006 International Standard.

In the last few days, numerous coverage has gone on in news articles and blog posts on this Ecma's approval of OOXML. Reaction has been favourable to ODF. Here is a selection:

• International Herald Tribune: Microsoft wins industry standard status for Office

Excerpt:

Microsoft saw the competitive threat and accelerated its effort to open the formats of Office files to other software users, said Michael Silver, a Gartner analyst in New York.

"This is a legitimate move toward more openness," he said. "But the decision to seek an industry standards designation was prompted by the success of OpenDocument."

• Internet News: Microsoft Office Open XML Sparks Standards Fight

Excerpt:

Sam Hiser, director of business affairs at the Open Document Foundation, which helped create the ODF standard, said that OOXML is "definitely redundant."

Hiser asserted Microsoft is trying to keep control of the document formats. "They're making a very clever gambit to pretend to be making open concessions by adopting an XML standard in the file format design, but it's one that's heavily encumbered by propriety dependencies," he told internetnews.com.

Bob Sutor, who is vice president of open source and standards at IBM, confirmed that IBM voted against adoption of OOXML at the Ecma general assembly today.

Writing on his personal blog, he wrote that ODF "is an example of a real open standard versus a vendor-dictated spec that documents proprietary products via XML."

• Intelligent Enterprise Magazine: Microsoft's XML Standard Needs Fast Track Approval To Halt Defections

Excerpt:

ECMA's approval of Microsoft ooXML format "likely won't stop the parade of governmental bodies from adopting the competing OpenDocument Format (ODF).  In recent weeks, ODF has been embraced by several governmental bodies in Brazil, France, Italy, Poland and India.  ODF has a head start with ISO approval . . .Microsoft's ECMA submission comprised more than 6,000 pages. The challenge of plowing through so much could drag out approval by ISO. ODF's submission was less than 700 pages.  'The ECMA spec stacks up on a desk as high as your shoulder,' said [Sam Hiser vice president and director of business affairs at the Open Document Foundation]. "It can cost $1,000 just to print it out."

• CNET: Microsoft's document gambit moves ahead

Excerpt:

ODF "has emerged as a viable alternative and has garnered interest from a growing number of governments and technology vendors ."  Andy Updegrove:  "'ODF and Linux represent the first chinks in Microsoft's armor in a long time.' . . . Jeff Kaplan, the founder and director of Open ePolicy Group, which advocates for the use of 'open technologies' in government, said that governments are seizing upon Microsoft alternatives out of self-interest.

"'Governments are leading to move to ODF because they want control over data and to break their data lock-in. They see it as a matter of sovereignty, and they are uncomfortable with continued dependency on one company,' Kaplan said. He added that the expected Ecma standard certification of Office Open XML will increase confusion in the marketplace.

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