OOXML

Remember when Apple computer couldn't read MS Word documents, and neither Apple nor MS Word could read WordPerfect?

That is the kind of problem caused by having multiple incompatible document formats. To solve this problem the major computer companies got together and created a single open format. Open because anyone could develop a program to use it. The standard for this format is Open Document Format (ODF) which is used by a wide variety of software including the open source community. This standard was adopted as the standard for open document formats by the International Standards Organization several years ago.

OOXML is a recent Microsoft-developed document format which has has been submitted for approval to the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). A successful application by Microsoft would lead to the existence of two mutually incompatible standards for the same thing.

Member organisations of the International Organisation for Standardization voted in September 2007 on whether or not to allow OOXML as an official alternative standard to the existing standard of the Open Document Format. The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) represented South Africa in this vote.

On 18 July 2007, SC71L, a sub-committee of the SABS, was asked to make a technical assesment and recommendation on how South Africa should vote on the further progress of the proposed DIS29500 standard that would allow for the approval of OOXML.

As a member of the committee eligible to vote, the Shuttleworth Foundation supported the majority vote against the adoption of OOXML as a standard. The argument that the proposed standard represents the best solution to the perceived problem of rendering legacy documents was rejected and a number of technical concerns raised. Certain patents which Microsoft has been able to obtain in South Africa but not in other countries such as the United States, pose a significant problem for the general IP undertaking required by ISO.

In total 13 voting members disapproved of allowing OOXML as an additional standard and 4 approved, showing that the significant majority view is that South Africa sees no benefit in adopting another standard for document formats in this area.

On 2 September the SABS representative to ISO cast a vote against the approval of OOXML as an international standard for document formatting, as did the majority of representatives from other ISO member organisations.

The Shuttleworth Foundation concurs with this rejection and maintains its ongoing commitment to the progress of truly open standards, such as ODF.