Microsoft has released the spec for WordprocessingML (WordML), SpreadsheetML (ExcelML) and FormTemplate Schemas (for InfoPath) to the world.
Here’s another news story that I just don’t get.
Microsoft has released the spec for “WordprocessingML” (WordML), SpreadsheetML (ExcelML) and FormTemplate Schemas (for InfoPath) to the world. Cool.
But the stories! “Microsoft Pries Open Office 2003” says one headline. “What’s Behind Microsoft’s Office Moves?” asks another, “Looming competitive and regulatory pressures factored into Microsoft’s recent decision to reveal formerly secret pieces of its latest Office software, according to analysts.”
What hogwash.
WordML shipped with the beta of Office 2003, folks. It was on the Developer’s CD nine months ago. As WordML changed – and there were a couple of significant changes, including a key one requested by the anti-virus community – the updated versions of WordML shipped out to developers as part of the beta updates.
In previous versions of Word, the BIFF – Word’s Binary File Format -stood as something of an unholy grail: people who needed to dissect the internal structure of Word documents swore at the documentation, which never seemed to match reality, and it was very difficult to get a copy of the docs. But as far as I know, Microsoft always let the folks who really needed to see BIFF get a copy.
(Frankly, I always thought that MS kept BIFF under wraps primarily because they didn’t want people to know that Word’s files were held together with baling wire and chewing gum.)
With XML, the structure is considerably simpler. It’s still a hornet’s nest. But compared to BIFF, WordML is like a breath of fresh air.
Microsoft has always intended to make WordML – er, WordprocessingML – widely available. It’s in their best interests. It’s in our best interests. Microsoft has even released a transform that converts WordML to HTML.
“Regulatory pressures”? Gimme a break.
You can download your own copy of the XML schemas – the ones “pried” from Office 2003 – from the Microsoft website.
