OOXML is not even a specification!

Sorry to bang on the Microsoft OOXML but the idea of this document being adopted as a standard is so bizarre that it's kind of morbidly fascinating. It is also scary because Microsoft may have the power to make it happen.

This post highlights a number of things that should get OOXML swept off the standards table:

TalkBack: Um... | reader response on| CNET News.com

... and from that the thing that strikes me as the most obvious reason why OOXML can not be a standard is that it is not even a complete specification!

Here are two quotes from OOXML:

"2.15.3.6 autoSpaceLikeWord95 (Emulate Word 95 Full-Width Character Spacing)

This element specifies that applications shall emulate the behavior of a previously existing word processing application (Microsoft Word 95) when determining the spacing between full-width East Asian characters in a document?s content."

"2.15.3.26 footnoteLayoutLikeWW8 (Emulate Word 6.x/95/97 Footnote Placement)

This element specifies that applications shall emulate the behavior of a previously existing word processing application (Microsoft Word 6.x/95/97) when determining the placement of the contents of footnotes relative to the page on which the footnote reference occurs. This emulation typically involves some and/or all of the footnote being inappropriately placed on the page following the footnote reference."

By referring to an external reference, i.e. the implementation of various versions of Word, the specification becomes un-implementable. What are the chances of Microsoft giving the world access the the source code of their Word program? Right. And even if they did, a pile of source code does not constitute a specification.