[libreoffice-users] was: LWP documents

The issue back then was everyone had their own proprietary file format, 
since there was no common one that could be used by any company, except 
"txt" and other formats that did not keep the file's formatting 
properly.  No company would allow you to use their proprietary formats.

The there was a movement to create a common file format that everyone 
could use.  In the end, that set of document formats developed into the 
Open Document Formats.

Now any company can use this non-proprietaryset of document formats to 
create, read, or edit documents created by other companies' packages.

Yes, it was total chaos.  I remember having to manually edit some 
document files in a "text editor" to remove the formatting codes so it 
could be read by a different word processor, since the facility did not 
have that package.  That worked for some formats, but not others.  Now 
there is one standard ODF, although Microsoft would say it is their 
formats.

Yes MSO formats have dominated the field of what formats are used, but 
MS did not share its proprietary formats with the competitors.  OOo and 
LO had to reverse-engineer its ability to read MSO formats.  MS did try 
to get its "XML based formats" [docx and such] made into an 
International standard, but would not give up control of its 
development, which is a requirement to make it fully an open standard - 
no one company can control an open standard, since it would have its 
development "controlled" by an international committee of companies and 
groups of people/users who want to make it better.  MS wanted to publish 
a version of their "standard" in a way that there would be still 
proprietary parts to the open standard that required MS products to use 
them properly.  Also they wanted to decide what would be done to that 
"standard" without any other company/group having a say.  This is a sore 
subject for some of us, with all of MS's legal [and illegal] behind the 
scenes politics [and bribery] to make their "open" formats be THE 
international standard after the vote decided on ODF as the [one an 
only] ISO standard for office document formats.

Chaos was the past.  Greed is what is going on now.  The "true" use of a 
free open format by most [hopefully all] of the office packages should 
be our future.  LO uses ODF as their default.  As changes are proposed 
and developed, LO should modify its filters/programming to use those 
modifications of ODF properly in their created/edited documents.  LO/TDF 
is not in control of that format, but can offer up proposals to make it 
work better in the "real world" of office use.  MS wants every user to 
use their "open" formats, but you must use their office package to use 
it fully and properly.  MS does not want to hand over the ability of its 
competitors to read/write/edit files created with their packages, so 
that users no longer need to use its office package.  That was the way 
of most of the word processors and office packages in the past.  Most of 
them, excluding MS, have decided that it would be better to go with the 
international movement and be able to properly read/write/edit a single 
fully open set of document formats, instead of forcing users to buy 
their package to read/write/edit files that were created with their 
packages.  It is better to use an ISO set of document formats.

Now these office packages will be used if and only if they are 
determined to be the best/easiest package for the users to get their 
word done.

LO and other FOSS packages include the idea of "best" to include "free" 
in its definition.

For many of us, with limited budgets and other issues, choose free over 
paid packages.

"Why pay for software when you can legally get software that does the 
same thing for free?"  FOSS package creators do not have the "must make 
as much profit" attitude as companies like MS does.  That attitude is 
what drove the file format "chaos" of the early days of desktop 
computing.  Now that that industry has grown out if its childhood years, 
we need to survive its teenage years.  The concept of "true openness" of 
the Internet hopefully will make its adulthood a much better place, with 
less chaos and with a more "grown up" attitude like what people should 
teach their children to make them a better adult.


> On 01/28/2012 02:43 AM, soumalya ray wrote:
> i was just wondering-there are so many file formats in this world.if this
> is the case now,what was the picture 5-10 years back!!its a total chaos.


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