Microsoft issues protocol documentation
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The update is part of Microsoft's effort to make it easier for developers to write applications that can work with Microsoft's products.
Microsoft updated documentation on protocols used in some of its
core applications today. The update is part of the company's
general "interoperability principles" effort, announced in
February, which is designed to make it easier for developers to
write applications that can work with Microsoft's products.
The new materials are "Version 1.0" document protocols used for
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, SharePoint Server 2007 and Office
2007. Version 1.0 builds on the company's preliminary April release
of protocol documentation by including initial input from the
development community.
The documentation includes additional resources for development
efforts relating to "e-mail, calendar, contacts, voice mail and
task tracking with either Exchange Server 2007 or Microsoft Office
Outlook 2007," according to an announcement issued by the
company.
In addition, Microsoft added to existing documentation of its
binary file formats used in Microsoft Office, posting "nearly 5,000
pages" relating to Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
The added technical documentation describing Microsoft's
protocols boosts the overall total to "approximately 50,000 pages,"
according to Craig Shank, general manager of interoperability, in a
released statement.
Developers can find descriptions of the protocols and
documentation at the Microsoft Developer Network Library.
Microsoft initiated a "document interoperability initiative" back in March
and has launched some new projects, based on the feedback it
received.
One such project is the development of UniformOffice Format translators for Microsoft Office 2007 and 2003,
in which Microsoft is working with Beihang University in Beijing.
The company is also working on a way for software vendors
developing browser-based applications to launch documents using
Microsoft's Office Open XML format. That effort is focusing on
creating a new Open XML to HTML translator.
Finally, Microsoft is involved in an effort
to perform server-side processing of Office Open XML files using
its PowerShell command-line tool.
Microsoft, while opening up some of its protocol documentation
of late, still retains its patents on those technologies. The
company licenses its technologies to other software vendors
producing commercial products that interoperate with Microsoft's
applications. A list of Microsoft's patented protocol technologies
can be accessed here.
Microsoft has announced that it will not charge for use of its
published protocol technologies, even for open source developers,
providing that the application is noncommercial.
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