Compound Document Discussion the Ability

Compound Document Discussion

The ability to integrate one application's files into another, often combining two or more files to create a more illustrative, informational document for readers is the user need that originally drove the development of compound documents. Microsoft and Apple both support the underlying technologies that make compound documents possible. Both Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and the Component Object Model (COM) technologies form the foundation of complex documents, as defined by the Microsoft Developer's Network (MSDN 2007). This specific posting from MSDN discusses the role of structured storage and the need for Uniform Data Transfer part of the foundational elements of COM and therefore critical to high levels of compatibility across applications that are used for integrating documents within each other. Microsoft also makes a distinction their programming documentation that there are two specific forms of integrating documents with each other using the COM model. These two approaches include linked or embedded (Microsoft 2007). The linking approach to creating compound documents assumes a high level of integration across applications, and in the later versions of Microsoft Office this is accomplished through XML integration and connectivity. Object embedding is made possible through the use of containerized technology that Apple, Microsoft, IBM and others have defined, and in the context of MSDN discussions the role of.NET Framework 3.0 includes the definition of containers. As a result of these technologies the embedding of a Microsoft spreadsheet into a Microsoft Word document is a complex document, as it relies on COM and OLE-based technologies. Web pages however in this context of OLE and COM-based technologies are not. It is important to note however that the W3C Standards Committee does us the term compound document yet it does not refer to OLE and COM technologies, it refers to XML integration of data sources and integration.