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Wolfram Launches Computational Document Format

Posted by Soulskill on from the kinder-gentler-document-format dept.

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.'"

4 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. CDF? Really? by oneiros27 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They have to take the same acronym as a 20+ year old file format for storing numbers?

    It's almost like they didn't bother putting the term 'CDF file' into a search engine to see if anyone else was using that acronym already for a file extension. (of course, w3 even used it twice)

    --
    Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
  2. Sounds good but... by TheRecklessWanderer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It sounds good but look at all the problems adobe has with PDF. People embedding viruses and trojans. If this format were to be used, would it really be all that different?

    --
    Mean what you say...say what you mean.
  3. Re:Wait for third-party tools by Animats · · Score: 5, Informative

    It gets worse. From the EULA:

    Certain functionality in the Product may require the Software to access collections of data available through external servers. WRI makes no warranty that access to such data will be uninterrupted or that the data itself will be error free. WRI reserves the right to restrict access to, add, update, modify, or remove collections of data based on availability, Your service subscription, or otherwise at WRI's discretion.

    So once they get enough suckers signed up, they can make it a pay service.

  4. Re:Wait for third-party tools by wjousts · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, they seem to be abusing the term "free" and "public" in a manner that I don't think most people would expect. From the licensing page:

    Computable Document Format (CDF) is a free public format, and under the Wolfram FreeCDF terms of use, your CDF documents along with their content are freely redistributable to anyone using the Wolfram CDF Player.*

    And that asterisk?

    *FreeCDF terms automatically apply to CDF files created by Wolfram products, but do not allow:

    • Charging others for using your CDFs
    • Preventing others from republishing or redistributing CDFs that you give them
    • Removing our logo or other displayed branding

    Which looks suspiciously like their "free public format" is, in fact, closed and proprietary.