Standards: California Enters ODF versus OOXML Debate

A new generation of document creation applications is again sparking a war of competing file formats.  Microsoft’s .doc Word format won the first round and has remained for some time the most popular file format and de facto standard for exchanging editable document files.  But widespread acceptance of XML is forcing that to change.

Governments worldwide have expressed their desire to create and exchange documents that are based on internationally agreed open standards.  Governments want to be able to create documents that can be distributed to anyone for over long periods of time.  Many people have identified an XML-based open format as the best available current option for ensuring long-term document retention and access.

The OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF) was created as an XML document file format.  ODF is a published ISO and IEC standard, approved in May 2006, and it has been heavily promoted by Sun, IBM, and Google.

The ODF Alliance cites the following benefits of ODF:

Access.  As an open standard, documents in the format should be available in the future by anyone and at any time.

Choice.  An Open Standard for the file format allows many vendors to create office suites and applications around the same standard.  It promotes competition and choice.

Innovation.  An open standard encourages vendors to compete and to foster innovation.

Massachussetts has already adopted ODF as a state standard and now mandates that all state agency documents conform.  In early February, Texas and Minnesota introduced bills that would mandate the use of an open XML-based file format that is “interoperable among diverse internal and external platforms and applications; fully published and available royalty-free; implemented by multiple vendors; and controlled by an open industry organization with a well-defined inclusive process for evolution of the standard”.

Today California is also beginning to consider legislation that would require state agencies to adopt an open document format for all document records. 

Microsoft is fighting back and has created a new file format for their just-released Office 2007 product that is positioned in direct response to ODF.  Office 2007 introduces the OOXML (Office Open XML) file format.  OOXML is a 6039 page specification that was accepted by Ecma International in December.  Microsoft has gotten some support for the format from Intel, Apple, Canon, Novell and The US Library of Congress.

But Microsoft is in trouble with acceptance of OOXML as a standard.  It did receive a favorable adoption vote by Ecma last December, but then it advanced to a review stage called the contradiction phase.  A contradiction could be voiced if a country feels that the standard would disrupt another one, or redefine another one, or incorrectly use another one.  Countries have a short period after the adoption vote to voice ‘contradictions’.

Twenty countries responded during this phase to raise contractions.  They include:  Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, and the UK.  Next there will be a vote of acceptance from all countries.  Of the 30 countries carrying some weight in the vote, 16 have raised contraditions.  It seems unlikely, given the number of countries that have voiced concern, that OOXML could be accepted. 

Microsoft already has a plugin to allow ODF compatibility from Microsoft Office.  And if the pressure continues, Microsoft may find itself in a position where it will need to support ODF “out-of-the-box”.