Microsoft's bid to make the Open XML (OOXML) file formats international standards has succeeded, barring any last-minute changes. The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is scheduled to issue the official communique today.
The Microsoft-created specification OOXML is struggling to achieve the two-thirds majority backing of ISO members in order for it to become a recognised standard, the aftermath of a high-profile meeting has revealed.
The British Standards Institution has been taken to court by a group of Unix users in an attempt to get the standards body to recant its approval of Microsoft's Office Open XML document format.
Microsoft's OOXML document format has accrued enough votes for recognition as an international standard, but one observer believes the change will make little difference to users in Australia.
Now that Office Open XML (OOXML) has been certified as an ISO standard, there is a possibility that the vote leading to that result will be challenged. It seems Microsoft is already counting on it.
Developers wanting to use Microsoft's Office Open XML specification will need to brush up on their legal skills.
Redmond-based group project manager of Microsoft Office, Gray Knowlton, told ZDNet Australia that OOXML provides higher levels of security. "One of the benefits we have with the OpenOffice XML formats is that we know when we read and write and document because we have an XML based representation of what's in that content -- we know what should and should not be there," he said.
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