Mashing Up Desktop and Web-Based Office Suites

Abstract

I’ve long been excited about the mashability and reusability of office suite documents (for example, word processor documents, spreadsheets, and slide presentations), the potential of which has gone largely unexploited. There are many office suites, but in this chapter I’ll concentrate on the latest versions of OpenOffice.org, often called OO.o (version 2.x), and Microsoft Office (2007 and 2003). Few people realize that both these applications not only have programming interfaces but also have XML-based file formats. In theory, office documents using the respective file formats (OpenDocument and Office Open XML) are easier to reuse and generate from scratch than older generations of documents using opaque binary formats. And as you have seen throughout the book, knowledge of data formats and APIs means having opportunities for mashups. For ages, people have been reverse engineering older Microsoft Office documents, whose formats were not publicly documented; however, recombining office suites has been made easier, though not effortless, by these new formats. In this chapter, I will also introduce you to the emerging space of web-based office suites, specifically ones that are programmable. I’ll also briefly cover how to program the office suites.