Uniform Office Format (UOF) is a Chinese developed open standard for 'office' applications. It includes word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet modules, and is made up of GUI, API, and format specifications. The document format described uses XML contained in a compressed file container, similar to ISO/IEC 26300:2006 OpenDocument and ISO/IEC DIS 29500 (Previously ECMA-376) Office Open XML (OOXML).
The working group that has produced the standard was founded in January 2002, and the first draft of the specification was produced in December 2005. The group producing the standard is open, with 'open-door' meetings, equitable voting by ballots, and the standard document is free.
Converter
ODF to UOF
Software is available to convert from ODF to UOF and vice versa.[1] The software was developed between November 2005 and October 2006 by the Open Standard Lab of Peking University.[2]
OOXML to UOF
Software is being developed at ACT (The Institute of Advanced Computing Technology) at Beihang University to convert from OOXML to UOF and vice versa.[3]
Possibility of merging UOF and ODF
At the "WTO IPRs Issues in Standardization" conference in Beijing (April 2007), convened by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the China State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, the Chairman of Sun Microsystems called for a merger of OASIS/ISO's ODF and China's UOF.[4] While both formats are open, there are significant technical challenges in achieving a merger, as the two formats have made different fundamental choices in how to describe documents.[5][6]
A comparison document between ODF and UOF is available.[7]
References
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