Wolfram Launches Computational Document Format

Barence writes "Wolfram Research has launched its own document format, which it claims is 'as everyday as a document, but as interactive as an app.' The Computational Document Format (CDF) allows authors to embed interactive charts, diagrams and graphics into their documents, allowing readers to adjust variables to see how increasing a price affects profits, for example, or display different segments of a brain scan. Wolfram aims to make the format easy enough for non-programmers to use, based on the linguistic commands used in its search engine. '[Currently] anyone who can make an Excel macro should easily be able to make interactivity for CDF,' said Conrad Wolfram. 'Where I'd like to get is that anyone who can make an Excel chart can make interactivity in CDFs.'"

Comments

no viruses, just sales

[OrangeTide]

the embedded language is relatively simple and based on Mathematica 8. It doesn't appear to provided system functionality like ActiveX.

It seems obvious that this "free" CDF thing is used to drive sales of Mathematica, because the only way to compose these documents is to run their rather expensive software ($2500 for a single user commercial license). The player is free though, but honestly I don't see why there needs to be a player at all. Why can't it just export as Flash and HTML5?