Open XML Basics

ISO/IEC DIS 29500, Information technology – Office Open XML file formats, is an international, open standard for word processing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets that can be freely implemented by multiple applications on multiple platforms. On April 2, 2008, it had received the necessary number of votes for approval as an International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) International Standard. Approval required at least 2/3 (i.e. 66.66%) of the votes cast by national bodies participating in the joint technical committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, to be positive; and no more than 1/4 (i.e. 25 %) of the total number of ISO/IEC national body votes cast to be negative. These criteria have now been met with 75% of the JTC 1 participating member votes cast positive and 14% of the total of national member body votes cast negative.

Open XML has gained broad adoption across the software industry for use on a variety of platforms—including Linux, Windows, Mac OS, and Palm OS. Hundreds of independent software vendors and platform providers around the world—such as Apple Inc., Corel Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Microsoft, and Novell Inc.—are developing solutions with Open XML that offer real value for IT users around the globe.

Background

ISO/IEC DIS 29500 was originally developed as the Office Open XML Specification by Microsoft Corporation, which submitted it to Ecma International, an information technology industry association, for transposing into an ECMA standard. Following a process in which other IT industry players participated; Ecma International subsequently published the document as ECMA standard 376.

Ecma International then submitted the standard in December 2006 to ISO/IEC JTC 1, with whom it has category A liaison status, for adoption as an International Standard under the JTC 1 "fast track" procedure. This allows a standard developed within the IT industry to be presented to JTC 1 as a draft international standard (DIS) that can be adopted after a process of review and balloting. This process has now been concluded with the end of the 30-day period following the ballot resolution meeting. The process was open to the IEC and ISO national member bodies from 104 countries, including 41 that are participating members of the joint ISO/IEC JTC 1.

The work to standardize Open XML is being carried out by Ecma International via its Technical Committee 45 (TC45), which includes representatives from Apple, Barclays Capital, BP, The British Library, Essilor, Intel, Microsoft, NextPage, Novell, Statoil, Toshiba, and the U.S. Library of Congress.

Read this article for a quick introduction to document standards and Open XML.

Hear what Ecma has to say about Open XML.