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Subject: Re: [office-formula] Goals/levels/packaging/complex numbers
Rob Weir said: >> >> Is it only ODF-compliant if it implements a particular level of >> formulas? The question doesn't even make sense, because this program >> doesn't even need to know about formulas. But still it should be >> able to call itself ODF-compliant. Of course. It doesn't make sense to REQUIRE all ODF-using applications to support a particular set of formulas. But I think it DOES make sense to have a shorthand notation of some kind that says "I support formulas, with this common set of functions/operators". Otherwise, when you create a formula, the only way to determine if it will interchange will be massive testing, EVERYONE has to implement EVERYTHING, _or_ you can never interchange. I think a great value of standardization is revealing everyone's requirements, and then working to try to achieve them (presuming "not excessively complex" is a requirement too). So far, the union of requirements looks like this: * Don't require EVERY ODF app to support formulas * Don't require EVERY formula-supporting app to support a massive number of functions; some may only want to support + - * / SUM and a specialized set * Have a large set of defined functions, so that if two apps DO support the same function, it means the "same" thing * Have a shorthand way of describing sets of functions (and maybe semantics) so that you can describe what a particular application supports * Have some predefined sets of functions so that users can easily say "I need set X". This can all be easily done in a single specification, and there are variety of ways to do it. --- David A. Wheeler
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