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- Path: ix.netcom.com!netnews
- From: Mike Girou <girou@parashift.com>
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal.delphi.misc,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.pascal.misc,comp.lang.c++
- Subject: Re: WORD FILE FORMAT (WINDOWS)
- Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 18:02:07 -0600
- Organization: Paradigm Shift, Inc.
- Message-ID: <3146107F.2B65@parashift.com>
- References: <4hv2ho$d8t@news.interpath.net> <4i2c5e$t70@kiwi.futuris.net>
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- X-NETCOM-Date: Tue Mar 12 4:02:42 PM PST 1996
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-
- Perry Fect wrote:
- >
- > Scott McMahan - Softbase Systems (softbase@mercury.interpath.net) wrote:
- > : Idan Feigenbaum (yfeigenbaum@decisiondata.com) wrote:
- >
- > : : I need the WORD for windows file format.
- >
- > : The Word file format is a PROPRIETARY TRADE SECRET OF MICROSOFT! It
- > : has never been released to the public. You may be able to license it
- > : for a fee from Microsoft, but you'd probably have to sign a
- > : non-disclosure agreement. If anyone has reverse-engineered the file
- > : format, it has never been leaked to the public. If someone did this,
- > : they'd be asking MS to make an example of them in the courts. None of
- > : MS's development information sources (Knowledge Base, MSDN CDs, etc)
- > : documents the file format.
- >
- > that's such a bullshit policy. microsoft must die.
- >
- > --
-
- Is it really such a stupid policy? Once they publish the internal
- standards, then they are pretty well stuck with that standard for
- life. As long as they, and only they, build code around the internal
- representations, they are free to change those representations as the
- need arises (hopefully providing conversion tools). Why should they
- or any other developer give up such freedom, particularly if there
- are tolerable workarounds.
-
- Microsoft as a company has a few unpleasant quirks, but they have
- helped change the world in a positive way. Would you rather have
- IBM back in a leadership role? Basically, the marketplace has spoken
- quite clearly. Yes, eventually they must die. But it'll be a while.
-
- Mike
-
- --
- Mike Girou girou@parashift.com
-