[odf-discuss] Alternative to the Foundation plugin

[Daniel Carrera]

Hello all,

Marbux has asked if I have a better alternative to the Foundation
plugin. He talks about the need for 100% fidelity, and argues that
extending ODF with unknown binary blobs ("dark objects") is the only way
he knows to achieve this. Marbux asks if I have another idea to achieve
100% fidelity.

As a matter of fact I do.

I have an alternative which I think you will all agree is superior in
every respect:

1. It provides 100% fidelity, in exactly the same sense that the
Foundation plugin does.

2. It achieves better interoperability with ODF than the Foundation
plugin does.

3. Like the Foundation plugin, it extends ODF. But the "dark objects"
won't be dark at all. They'll be XML and mostly documented.

4. It is much less work to develop.

5. Like the Foundation one, it can be a plugin for MS Office. But it can
also run without MS Office, and it can even run on Linux.


So what is this 100% fidelity idea I have?

We can talk to the Microsoft-funded Clever Age team and ask them that
whatever OXML elements they can't map well to ODF, be simply left in the
final document as OXML.

Effectively, this is treating OXML as an extension of ODF, as allowed by
section 1.5 of the ODF spec 1.0 (the same section the Foundation invokes
for its extension). Let's run again through the benefits:

1. It uses the same method as the Foundation plugin (ie. ODF extensions)
to achive 100% fidelity. Ecma OXML can achieve 100% fidelity with MSO.
Any OXML tags that Clever Age can't map well to ODF, are simply left as
OXML.

2. Clever Age already achieves fairly good interop with ODF. Unlike the
Foundation plugin.

3. Instead of "dark objects" we have OXML. Sure, OXML is crap, but it
really beats a binary blob. Even a tag like "useSpacingLikeWord95" is
far better than "AwBfioF+CcEAf/Xk0v". Especially since, after you decode
the blob, all you'll come up with is "useSpacingLikeWord95".

4. I'm sure Clever Age can add this feature in less than a day.

5. It doesn't require anything from MS Office, it can run anywhere you
can compile it. Michael Meeks has made a Linux command-line version. So,
for example, you could use it to turn all out-going or in-coming OXML
files into the extended ODF. This isn't possible with the Foundation
plugin.


I'm sure you will all agree that this plan has all the benefits of the
Foundation plugin, and several advantages on top.

If we feel that the Foundation method (extending ODF) is acceptable,
then asking Clever Age to extend ODF with OXML is even more so. In
converse, if we don't feel it's acceptable for Clever Age to extend ODF
with OXML, then it is less so for the Foundation plugin.

Best wishes,
Daniel.
-- 
May you live in interesting times.
May people in high places take notice of you.
May all your wishes come true.
  -- Chinese curse.