Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!news From: news@sun.uucp (news) Newsgroups: comp.text.desktop Subject: Re: ODA/ODIF Message-ID: <38853@sun.uucp> Date: 14 Jan 88 17:48:05 GMT Distribution: comp Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. - Mtn View, CA Lines: 81 Approved: desktop-request%plaid@sun.com > Some interesting initial questions are: > * How do we get the ODA/ODIF standards documents? > * How does ODA/ODIF compare with IBM's DCA, etc, which seems to be > becoming a defacto interchange standard in this country? > * How does ODA/ODIF relate to something like PostScript, which > (especially with its soon-to-arrive screen display versions) is an > interchange standard of a different sort? > * Are there implementations of ODA/ODIF? > * Is ODA/ODIF capable of rendering the sorts of hypermedia things we > (well, I at least) expect to do? > * Is there already a mailing list/newsgroup on this topic anywhere? > * And, um, what do the letters stand for? ODA stands fo Office Document Architecture, ODIF for Office Document Interchange Format. ODA is specified in ISO International Standard 8613, Parts 1 to 8. This standard was only recently approved, and the final text will probably not be available until mid-year. I have a copy of the second draft, which is not very different from the final version. It is about two inches of material. I am willing to send this to people who can convince me they have a serious interest in ODA and its capabilities. ODA has the capabilities to fully describe the structure of a document independent of its content. Thus it could accommodate any abitrary type of content, such as character, raster graphics (coded or bit mapped), geometric graphics, audio etc. The ISO 8613 currently standardizes character, raster, and geometric graphic content architectures. ODA can also fully describe the document layout in the layout structure. A document described by ODA is thus fully processable (revisable), but the information can also be conveyed to describe how the originator intended it to appear. The encoding of the ODA document description, which results in a binary data stream or file, is called ODIF when Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN.1) is used. Encoding can also be done using Office Document Language (ODL), which uses SGML. >From the above it is clear that the capabilities of ODA far exceed >those of DCA. PostScript should not be called an interchange standard, since interchange usually takes place between peer systems, rather than between a system and peripheral devices. The layout process of ODA produces a page image (virtual page). Drivers could be written to produce physical image of this. Alternatively, and likely, PostScript may be used as the interface to rendering devices. I am not aware of any products with ODA at the moment, although many manufacturers seem to be working on it, and there are a number of joint projects such as ESPRIT in Europe and EXPRES in the US. ODA was demonstrated by Honeywell-Bull, Siemens, Olivetti, and ICL at the 87 Hanover Fair. I can't comment on the relatioship of ODA to hypemedia. The have been some comments on ODA in comp.protocols.iso, and this subject should probably be cross-posted. Standards work on ODA takes place in the US in ANSI X3V1, Text: Office and Publishing Systems which meets four times a year. It also sends delegates to the international word. Participation is welcomed. Herman Silbiger Chair, X3V1.3&5, Document and Content Architectures ...!homxb!hrs 201 949 3193 ---------------------------------------- Submissions to: desktop%plaid@sun.com -OR- sun!plaid!desktop Administrivia to: desktop-request%plaid@sun.com -OR- sun!plaid!desktop-request Paths: {ihnp4,decwrl,hplabs,seismo,ucbvax}!sun