Eight implementations of the Open Document Format (ODF) OASIS Standard were orchestrated in a real-world scenario today at the OpenOffice.org Conference (OOoCon) at the Central European University in Budapest. The OASIS ODF 1.2 Interop showcased both open source and commercial software applications processing ODF documents on the desktop, in the cloud, and on mobile devices. Implementations demonstrated included IBM Lotus Symphony, KDE.org and KOffice, OpenOffice.org Novell Edition, Oracle Open Office, lpOD ODF Python Library, ODF Toolkit for Java, Maemo FreOffice, and Open Framework Systems (OFS).
The interoperation of Open Document files in a real world scenario was led by Ruven Pillay, representing the Centre de recherche et restauration des musée de France, within the Louvre museum. Pillay observed, “ODF enables our research team to use the right application for our diverse research challenges. We use the ODF Python library from lpOD to manage and manipulate large document repositories programmatically, while we are also able to choose from a number of desktop application for more traditional document editing. With ODF we are free to choose the right solution from many diverse sources.”
Documents for the scenario were provided by Louvre Labs, originating from several sources: a Louvre document repository, a local desktop file system, and a cloud-based collaborative editing environment provided by Open Framework Systems (OFS). Eighty documents, containing many images of artwork in various states of restoration, were programmatically extracted and stored as a new ODF presentation file. This new presentation file was reformatted with the ODF Python programming library, applying templates provided by KOffice and OpenOffice.org for automated styling. The resulting ODF file was read and edited by a number of desktop ODF applications including IBM Lotus Symphony, OpenOffice.org Novell Edition, and Oracle Open Office. The edited documents were then reviewed and approved by a research colleague using a Nokia N900 smart phone. By accessing the metadata, including the author's vCard data, the N900 automatically connected to the author where a discussion completed the review and approval process.
OASIS members demonstrated many facets of ODF including its use of existing open standards such as RDF for metadata, MathML for mathematic expressions, and XForms for forms data. The new OpenFormula language and application support for accessibility technologies such as screen readers were also shown. These demonstrations illustrated the breadth and power of the format to handle enterprise, academic, and government needs.
ODF is offered for implementation on a royalty-free basis. Participation in the OASIS ODF Technical Committee, ODF Adoption Committee, and ODF Interoperability and Conformance Committee is open to all companies, non-profit groups, governments, academic institutions, and individuals. As with all OASIS projects, archives of the Committees' work are accessible to both members and non-members, and OASIS hosts an open mail list for public comment.
"With new accessibility technologies implemented in IBM Lotus Symphony, we are pleased to offer modern office productivity support for ODF users of all abilities. By contributing this innovative software to the OpenOffice.org community, we hope to expand the ODF application ecosystem to serve a broader range of business users and consumers," said Robert Sutor, Vice President of Open Source and Linux, IBM.
"Novell is pleased with the advancement of the ODF specification reaching this demonstration milestone for the much-anticipated upcoming version 1.2. This Interoperability Demo is a great opportunity to demonstrate how open standards are implemented and supported throughout a wide range of products, hardware and open source software. Open standards like ODF affirm Novell's commitment to cross-platform and cross-vendor office document interoperability, which is at the core of our value proposition to our customers," said Michael Meeks, Go-oo.org and OpenOffice.org Novell Edition Architect.
