[libreoffice-users] Re: Does LO Writer converts (internally) any format other than .odt to .odt when it wants to open such files?

Am 06.08.2013 21:55, schrieb Sina Momken:

> ... does LO Writer
> converts files to .odt when it tries to open them or it can directly
> work with formats other than .odt like .doc and .docx?

I think no software "works" directly with a file format. Files are
"frozen data streams", they are static. Any data bits from the file get
"imported" into the software which stores them into its internal
variables, arrays, objects, and more, then it works with them and after
that stores the result again in the file.

So there is always some kind of import "translation" of data when a
software "opens" (i.e. reads) the file (resp. export translation when
writing it).

However, in the "native" format (as is odf for LibreOffice), this
translation mostly goes 1:1 as the file format is chosen to support the
software's needs best (or vice versa).

In contrast, for other (i.e. non-native) formats, the software first has
to convert the "foreign" data format into what it understands. This is
done by import resp. export filters, which map the software's needs to
file format givens and thus allows the software to "understand" foreign
formats.

Does this answer your question? Or did you mean something completely
diffferent? Why did you ask this question?

Nino

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