Microsoft Releases Specs for Binary Formats

skolima writes "In response to requests for even easier access to the Binary Formats, Microsoft has agreed to remove any intermediate steps necessary to get the documentation. They're going to just post it, making it directly available as a download on the Microsoft web site. Microsoft will also make the Binary Formats subject to its Open Specification Promise by February 15, 2008. They're even planning to include an Open Source converter implementation."

The important stuff

[ccguy]

The important stuff from the TFA:

Microsoft agreed to:
* Initiate a Binary Format-to-ISO/IEC JTC 1 DIS 29500 Translator Project on the open source software development web site SourceForge (http://sourceforge.net/ ) (...) The Translator Project will create software tools, plus guidance, showing how a document written using the Binary Formats can be translated to DIS 29500. The Translator will be available under the open source Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license (...). The Translator Project will start on February 15, 2008.
* Make it even easier to get access to the Binary Formats documentation by posting it and making it available for a direct download on the Microsoft web site no later than February 15, 2008. The Binary Formats have been under a covenant not to sue and Microsoft will also make them available under its Open Specification Promise (see www.microsoft.com/interop/osp) by the time they are posted.

Useful if you're a programmer and can't send e-mai

[Bongfish]

Note that these specs have been available previously, royalty free, just by e-mailing MS (or so they claim), meaning that anybody who wanted them has got them, or can get them.

The only interesting thing here is the converter they're proposing, assuming nobody beats them to it with a better one.

Re:"Binary Formats"?

[sed quid in infernos]

"Binary Formats" is being used as a proper noun for a specific set of file formats. It is a defined term in the document:

Documenting the Microsoft Office "binary" file formats (i.e., .doc, .xls, and .ppt) (the "Binary Formats") is not the intention or in the scope of DIS 29500.

Re:seeing as its all binary formats

[ByOhTek]

Try opening a word file in the plain text editor of your choice. There's actually a lot of plain text in there, it seems the binary is mostly from formatting (and embedded binary objects - like images).

I've had an occasion or two where a word document got corrupted and office wouldn't fix it. Out of curiosity, I opened it in notepad. I cut out all the formatting bytes, and cleaned up some areas where spaces were added between characters in a section of text (WTF?), and saved the plain text. Nothing of my document was missing (since I didn't have pictures in it or anything like that).

In another news...

[Anne Honime]

... Lucifer has announced the launch of a massive advertisement campaign to promote the opening of his new snow park under the brand "Hell Inc."

Somebody set up us the BOM

[tepples]

The UTF-8 BOM, 2 bytes signifying nothing that have caused myself and many others to waste countless hours arguing over nothing. I'm to angry to go verify that the UTF-8 bom is indeed 2 bytes.

The UTF-8 BOM is actually three octets, not two: 0xEF 0xBB 0xBF. They decode to a single codepoint U+FEFF.

Re:The important stuff

[Anonymous Coward]

What???? Office cant open .doc files?

As of Office 2007 or Office 2003 SP3 it will reject some very old .doc format files by default on file-format security grounds. There's clear documented steps to disable the warning and open the files anyway.

Re:Exchange

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait a second, does this include Exchange? If so, that's huge.

RTFA. It's .doc, .xls and .ppt.

Re:One month to reconfigure firewalls

[whatever1856]

It relies on Visual studio being present though, Nullsofts nSis (which I use) cares not for such restrictions. no it doesn't. It can be used with VS but you don't have to. When we started using WiX, I just used an XML editor create the files and then ran the WiX compilers and linkers from the command line. It's convenient to use it via Visual Studios, but by no means necessary.

Re:One month to reconfigure firewalls

[MBHkewl]

It's called: Windows Installer XML, not executables. It builds installation packages from XML files.

Tutorials & info are maintained here: http://www.tramontana.co.hu/wix/ [tramontana.co.hu]
Sourceforge link: http://wix.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net]

Just thought of correcting the name. By the way, thanks for the info, WK2.

.LOG file format...

[DarthStrydre]

The only Notepad specific "file type" is a .LOG text file, where the ASCII '.', 'L', 'O', 'G' is the file magic in the first four characters (might require after, I forget). It appends the date and time whenever you open the file. It's still "ANSI" format, but it does special stuff if it is there.