Microsoft Opening Outlook's PST Format

protosage writes to tell us that Microsoft Interoperability is working towards opening up Outlook's .pst format under their Open Specification Promise. This should "allow anyone to implement the .pst file format on any platform and in any tool, without concerns about patents, and without the need to contact Microsoft in any way." "In order to facilitate interoperability and enable customers and vendors to access the data in .pst files on a variety of platforms, we will be releasing documentation for the .pst file format. This will allow developers to read, create, and interoperate with the data in .pst files in server and client scenarios using the programming language and platform of their choice. The technical documentation will detail how the data is stored, along with guidance for accessing that data from other software applications. It also will highlight the structure of the .pst file, provide details like how to navigate the folder hierarchy, and explain how to access the individual data objects and properties."

Comments

Re:Never even heard of it

[cgenman]

'PST' stands for 'Personal Serial Trauma.' It is a highly advanced self-modifying file, which even after 2 years of continual use will keep up to 90% of your bits accurate. It's such a solid format, that Microsoft even ships tools with it to repair the file in the unlikely event that's you'd want it working again.