Adobe Systems turned over the full Portable Document Format (PDF) 1.7 specification to AIIM, the Enterprise Content Management Association, for publication by the International Standards Organization (ISO). Yep, that"s a mouthful. Why would Adobe bother? The company claims that this is simply the "next logical step" for the PDF format. However, it is more likely that the main reason for the move is Microsoft"s competing XPS format. Both technologies allow customers to print documents without needing the actual application that created it. Adobe is just taking precautionary steps to make sure XPS doesn"t make PDF disappear.
"We"re handing it over to a group that will eventually drive it to become a recognized ISO standard. We"re doing it because we feel it"s the next logical extension of where PDF has been in the past and where it needs to go in the future. This move, making the entire PDF specification an ISO standard, will go to allay concerns that some people have voiced that at some point in the future it could go away," said Sarah Rosenbaum, director of product management at Adobe.
"By releasing the full PDF specification for ISO standardization, we are reinforcing our commitment to openness. As governments and organizations increasingly request open formats, maintenance of the PDF specification by an external and participatory organization will help continue to drive innovation and expand the rich PDF ecosystem that has evolved over the past 15 years," said Kevin Lynch, chief software architect and SVP of the platform business unit at Adobe.