opacity and XML file formats (Score 1)

All the following merely excerpts my 19April2000 rant on opacity in proprietary formats, and the effects of potential XML usage by Microsoft.

[quote] The context for this page is best stated in my initial brief correspondence with Dan Gillmor. I previously described this page as an essay about ensnaring open systems with trace amounts of proprietary content, or about making systems so complex that only large teams can easily accomplish productive development. [snip]

• All open formats which support general embedding can embed cryptic closed content as easily as transparent open content. This includes text formats like XML as well as binary formats like IronDoc.
• Using an open format does not guarantee openness. Only a commitment to avoid closed content ensures openness. So using XML does not prevent embedding of cryptic proprietary content inside open standards.
• Similarly, all open source projects can be used to write mysteriously complex systems as easily as lucidly simple systems. This includes proprietary systems that become open source as well as historically open systems.
• Neither using open source nor converting to open source guarantees an operating system will lower barriers to entry for competitive development. Only a commitment to avoid complex and ever-changing systems will work. So opening source code does not prevent ongoing propietary control.

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