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Document file format
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<p>A document file format is a <a href="/facts/Text_file/zYW4JmES">text</a> or <a href="/facts/Binary_file/ysttM8hh">binary file</a> format for storing <a href="/facts/Document/H4Hdxu91">documents</a> on a <a href="/facts/Computer_storage/wPHKFpdx">storage media</a>, especially for use by <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computers</a>. There currently exists a multitude of incompatible document file formats. </p><p>Examples of <a href="/facts/XML/clNgUfWk">XML</a>-based <a href="/facts/Open_format/TKcCW6mA">open</a> standards are <a href="/facts/DocBook/8RpRVfCQ">DocBook</a>, <a href="/facts/XHTML/6qHnmJSg">XHTML</a>, and, more recently, the <a href="/facts/International_Organization_for_Standardization/IacYR7Yg">ISO</a>/<a href="/facts/International_Electrotechnical_Commission/hSK0kjwI">IEC</a> standards <a href="/facts/OpenDocument/pMtcVuNr">OpenDocument</a> (ISO 26300:2006) and <a href="/facts/Office_Open_XML/294uNJrf">Office Open XML</a> (ISO 29500:2008). </p><p>In 1993, the <a href="/facts/ITU-T/9nJwkPYx">ITU-T</a> tried to establish a standard for document file formats, known as the <a href="/facts/Open_Document_Architecture/aqlfLeLc">Open Document Architecture</a> (ODA) which was supposed to replace all competing document file formats. It is described in ITU-T documents T.411 through T.421, which are equivalent to ISO 8613. It did not succeed. </p><p><a href="/facts/Page_description_language/aUNGG3uU">Page description languages</a> such as <a href="/facts/PostScript/h2XwbcmC">PostScript</a> and <a href="/facts/Portable_Document_Format/C9Mn1vYL">PDF</a> have become the <i><a href="/facts/De_facto/3Du6WQKh">de facto</a></i> standard for documents that a typical user should only be able to create and read, not edit. In 2001, a series of <a href="/facts/International_Organization_for_Standardization/IacYR7Yg">ISO</a>/<a href="/facts/International_Electrotechnical_Commission/hSK0kjwI">IEC</a> standards for PDF began to be published, including the specification for PDF itself, <a href="/facts/ISO_32000/C9Mn1vYL">ISO-32000</a>. </p><p><a href="/facts/HTML/sSc3fT78">HTML</a> is the most used and open international standard and it is also used as document file format. It has also become <a href="/facts/International_Organization_for_Standardization/IacYR7Yg">ISO</a>/<a href="/facts/International_Electrotechnical_Commission/hSK0kjwI">IEC</a> standard (ISO 15445:2000). </p><p>The default binary file format used by <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Word/HPSu5W4j">Microsoft Word</a> (<a href="/facts/DOC_(computing)/dzG1cNc4">.doc</a>) has become a widespread <i><a href="/facts/De_facto/3Du6WQKh">de facto</a></i> standard for office documents, but it is a <a href="/facts/Proprietary_format/9j6BjD7t">proprietary format</a> and is not always fully supported by other word processors. </p>