LOGIN | REGISTER NOW | SUBSCRIBE
 

Microsoft Seeks Ecma OK on XPS


Critics allege Redmond casts a heavy shadow

By David Worthington
Email    print   
July 26, 2007 —  (Page 1 of 3)
It’s not easy being Microsoft’s standards-bearer, as Ecma International has found. When it began drafting an XML-based electronic paper specification, Ecma was the subject of cacophonous criticism, even before its work started.

Ecma formed Technical Committee 46 (TC46) at its June 28 General Assembly meeting and charged it with producing a formal standard for an XML-based electronic paper format and page description language, each based upon Microsoft’s XML Paper Specification (XPS).

Microsoft calls XPS a platform-independent document storage and typesetting specification, although the only implementations to date run on Windows. It has been viewed as a competitor to Adobe Systems’ Portable Document Format (PDF), which Adobe submitted to the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) in February, for eventual standardization by the ISO.

Windows Vista and the Office 2007 productivity suite have native support for XPS, and there are several independent implementations trailing back to Global Graphics and Xerox’s demonstration at Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005. XPS’ submission to Ecma was co-signed by 15 companies that will participate in the work of the technical committee, including Autodesk, Brother, Canon, HP, Lexmark, Ricoh, Toshiba and Xerox.

A Question of Influence
Naysayers and rivals have bemoaned the way Microsoft has maneuvered its internally developed specifications through standards bodies, alleging that it exerts too much control over the process. Critics claim that Microsoft is using Ecma as a gateway to put its standards before ISO/IEC, following

Microsoft’s submission of its Office Open XML document formats to Ecma last year, and its acceptance as the Ecma 376 standard last December. The specification was subsequently submitted to ISO/IEC for fast-track approval, where it remains under consideration.

A notice posted on the TC46 Web page on June 29 poured gasoline onto the fire. The notice read that the committee’s stated goal was to “produce a formal standard for an XML-based electronic paper format and XML-based page description language which is consistent with existing implementations of the format called the XML Paper Specification.” Another directive was to produce a formal standard for office productivity applications within the Ecma International standards process that would be fully compatible with the Office Open XML (OOXML) Formats.




Pages 1 2 3 


Share this link: http://sdt.bz/30917
 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
Appcelerator Acquires Cocoafish to Add Instant Mobile Cloud Capabilities to its Industry Leading Titanium Platform
Appcelerator Offers Messaging, Social, Location and Storage Mobile Cloud Services to All Mobile App Publishers
Zeichick’s Take: Radio moves from analog waveforms to digital packets
Streaming radio highlights the need for streaming applications to be designed to take up as little bandwidth as possible
ComponentOne Releases a Collection of 40+ UI Widgets Powered by HTML5 and jQuery
ComponentOne has announced the 2012 release of Wijmo: a kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development
Digg!  Digg
Reddit  Reddit
Slashdot  Slashdot
Share on facebook  Facebook
Share on Twitter  Twitter


Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
Loading




close
NEXT ARTICLE
From the Editors: Don't expect Microsoft to let Mono dictate
Although Mono has thought up some nice additions to .NET 2.0, having to submit them to Ecma means that Microsoft can, and probably will, refuse to implement them. Also, Python 3.0 means that many developers will have to abandon the makeshift hacks they had for the language Read More...
 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 

Download Current Issue
FEBRUARY 2012 PDF ISSUE

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Want to subscribe?


 
blogs tab
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
02/09/2012 02:16 PM EST

Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
02/07/2012 11:57 AM EST

RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
02/04/2012 01:57 PM EST

GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
02/03/2012 12:17 PM EST

Facebook claims hacker cred
Facebook's SEC S-1 filing form includes a short essay on the Hacker Way by Mark Zuckerberg himself.
02/02/2012 08:26 AM EST

Ryan Dahl steps down
Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js, steps back from his position as gatekeeper for the project.
02/01/2012 04:58 PM EST

 
Events calendar tab
Cloud Connect
2/13/2012 to 2/16/2012
Santa Clara
TechWeb

SPTechCon: The SharePoint Technology Conf.
2/26/2012 to 2/29/2012
San Francisco
BZ Media

RSA Conf.
2/27/2012 to 3/2/2012
San Francisco
RSA

IBM Pulse Conf.
3/4/2012 to 3/7/2012
Las Vegas
IBM Tivoli

Game Developer Conf.
3/5/2012 to 3/9/2012
San Francisco
TechWeb