RE: [office] A few thoughts on ODF change tracking

["Dennis E. Hamilton" <dennis.hamilton@acm.org>]

I think it is important, in this back and forth, to differentiate between
the DeltaXML proposal which is in many ways a new feature that would
deprecate what is attempted in ODF 1.0/.../ODF 1.2, and a defect which we
know we have.  Knowingly letting such a significant defect remain in the
specification is a different problem. 

I don't think anyone on the ODF TC is proposing taking up the DeltaXML
proposal, because it is so far reaching.  However we still have the defect
to deal with in a responsible way, as we discussed on the last call.  

I am hopeful that Oliver's researches will be helpful in that regard.  In
particular, it seems to me that it is currently impossible to create an
interoperable implementation of the current feature without consultation and
mimicry/reverse-engineering of code that is asserted to be a conforming
implementation.  We already know that implementers have gotten it wrong as
well and some implementers won't touch the feature because they can't tell
what it is.

That, for me, is a far more serious matter than deferral of a proposed
feature that supplants or expands the attempted specification of tracked
changes in ODF 1.0/1.1 and now 1.2.

 - Dennis

[Note: I can imagine that consultation of language in the DeltaXML proposal
might give us useful terms and concepts for expressing the specification of
the ODF 1.2 tracked changes as limited to the scope of the current
specification.  I don't consider that the same thing as taking up the
DeltaXML proposal and I am not assuming that to be necessary at this point
without first understanding what was envisioned for the tracked-changes
features in the scope of ODF 1.0 and as perpetuated into ODF 1.2.]

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Brauer [mailto:michael.brauer@oracle.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 23:51
To: robert_weir@us.ibm.com
Cc: Patrick Durusau; office@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: Re: [office] A few thoughts on ODF change tracking

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