OOXML: Still Waiting for the End
by Mike Gunderloy - Jun. 10, 2008Comments (0)- Related Blog Posts
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We've written before about the strange and dubious story of the adoption of Microsoft's OOXML document formats as an international standard by the ISO. The ISO ratified the standards a few months ago as part of a "fast track" process that left a number of members of the open source community disquieted, or even disgusted. Now, however, it seems that the game may not be over yet, as several member bodies of the ISO have lodged appeals against the outcome.
Specifically, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Venezuela have all objected to the ratification of OOXML as a standard. Their appeals make a number of points:
- That there wasn't enough time to study the overwhelming (6,000-page) proposed standard, or to raise issues with it.
- That the final vote on the standard was procedurally flawed and invalid.
- That a final draft of the standard is still not available, despite ISO rules requiring it to be issued within a month of ratification.
- That some objections were not allowed to be presented.
What does all this mean for OOXML? According to the ISO, "a document which is the subject of an appeal cannot be published as an ISO/IEC International Standard while the appeal is going on." So, at the very least, as of this moment, OOXML is not an international standard. Whether it will be one in a few months depends on the outcome of the appeals process, which will likely take several months.
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