I am very optimistic that Word 11 XML, while it may not be easy to process, will nonetheless be far more developer-friendly than processing RTF or .doc files. From what I can glean, it seems that Word 11 will also be able to enforce a schema during the editing process too, which may be very useful.
You can probably get a good idea of what the XML in Word 11 will be like by examining the XML support in Word 2000 and XP (9 and 10). This is not defined by a formal schema, but is fully documented by Microsoft. You can download a CHM file from http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnoffxml/html/ofhtml9.exe A while back, I set up an example of how Word 2000 reads in and correctly formats a well-formed XML file at http://www.xmlw.ie/xml2word/ for those interested. At 10:56 20/12/2002, Jon Eaves wrote:
There was a discussion a few months back about XML, it's openness and the new Office 11. I was maintaining that XML is just a delivery mechanism and the openness comes in the documentation of the schema. It appears that the news services have now noticed that as well. I'll say it again. Just because product 'Z' uses XML that does not make it open, interoperable or even a smart thing to do. XML is being used as a buzz-word for vendors to push products to unsuspecting customers. XML is _not_ the answer to all questions. Here's an interesting article on the not-so-open-Office 11. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-977880.html?tag=lh
-- Eoin Campbell, Technical Director, XML Workshop Ltd, 10 Greenmount Industrial Estate, Harolds Cross, Dublin 12, IRELAND. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: +353 1 4547811; Fax: +353 1 4731626 Web: http://www.xmlw.ie/ -- http://cms-list.org/ trim your replies for good karma.
