To let someone encrypt your data and not give you the key is silly,
but you do it every day
Schofield's first law of computing isn't really a law, and it is
not widely observed, but it can certainly help you lead a better
life. What it says, simply and obviously, is "never put data into a
program unless you can see exactly how to get it out".
Computers - software and hardware - are transitory and cheap.
Useful data is, by contrast, very expensive to create, and could
last forever. So if you invest vast sums in creating data, then it
is silly to let someone encrypt it and not tell you the key. Alas,
that is what you are doing when you put your data into proprietary
file formats such as Real's Realvideo, Sony's Atrac audio,
Microsoft .doc files, and so on.
Sooner or later, you could end up with data files you can no longer
read.
Ideally, try to use data formats that are published, open, not
protected by patents, and royalty-free, such as HTML, PNG and
vCard. In most cases you will have to compromise, but if you use
formats where the specification has not been published, you risk
making your data hostage to the supplier's fortunes. Even
Macromedia's Shockwave Flash (.swf) format is published.
If the file format is open - or at least published and licensed on
a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis - then there should be a
wide range of applications that can be used to create and display
that type of content. You won't be locked in to using a specific
product. Open file formats therefore encourage real competition and
promote choice.
Some of the benefits of this approach can be seen in, for example,
the MP3 music world, even though MP3 is not open but patented,
owned by and licensed on behalf of the Fraunhoffer Institute.
The idea of open file formats is not new, of course, but it may
soon become much more important. If you want to know why, look at
http://xml.openoffice.org/, the Web site for the open version of
Sun's Staroffice. It concerns the XML Project, which is working to
create a fully documented, open XML-based file format for office
applications such as word processors and spreadsheets.
I hope other suppliers apart from Sun are planning to use this XML
format too, because it is not good to have just a single company
supplying a file format, even if it is truly open.
If every office suite could read and write XML-based files then you
would be able to choose between them on merit. Schofield's first
law would be satisfied and the world would be a happier place.
Jack Schofield is computer editor at The
Guardian