Inside Macintosh: OpenDoc Programmer's Guide / Part 1 - Basics

Chapter 1 - Introduction to OpenDoc

Cross-Platform Consistency and CI Labs

OpenDoc was designed from the beginning to be a cross-platform architecture. The programming interface to OpenDoc is general enough to be readily implemented on many platforms, adapting well to different user-interface designs and different runtime models. Although OpenDoc does not provide a complete programming interface--it does not, for example, replace the graphics system or drawing commands for any platform--it provides consistent structure within which such system-specific interfaces can be used. As a result, users on all platforms obtain a uniform experience in embedding and manipulating all kinds of media.

Part of this uniformity is built into OpenDoc, and part comes from additional platform-independent user-interface guidelines that part-editor developers must follow. Because platform-neutral user-interface guidelines and program-
ming standards are so important, and because data integrity and data-transfer protocols are so critical in cross-platform settings, OpenDoc is affiliated with an organization devoted to solving these issues in a vendor-independent fashion.

Component Integration Laboratories, Inc. (CI Labs), is a nonprofit association dedicated to promoting the adoption of OpenDoc as a vendor-neutral industry standard for software integration and component software. CI Labs is composed of a number of platform and application vendors with a common interest in solving OpenDoc issues and promoting interoperability.

Organizations and individuals who want to participate in the move to a component-software model are invited to join CI Labs. CI Labs supports several levels of participation through different membership categories. Specific membership benefits vary by category, but all members influence the future direction of OpenDoc technology.

We encourage you to add your name to one of our electronic mail information lists at CILABS.ORG, download files from our server at FTP.CILABS.ORG, or look up our Web page (http://www.cilabs.org). If for some reason you are unable to get files from our server, we can send you an information packet. For details on membership levels and how you can become a member, please provide the following information to CILABS@CILABS.ORG or use our U.S. mail address:

Name
Company name
Title
Street address
City
State/Province
Zip code/Postal code/Country
Telephone number
Fax number
e-mail address

Send to

Component Integration Laboratories, Inc.
P.O. Box 61747
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-1747

Telephone

(408) 864-0300
Fax (408) 864-0380
Internet CILABS@CILABS.ORG
World Wide Web http://www.cilabs.org

Main | Page One | What's New | Apple Computer, Inc. | Find It | Contact Us | Help