A document file format is a binary file format for storing documents on a storage media, especially for use by computers.
There currently exist a multitude of incompatible document file formats. A rough consensus has been established that XML is to be the basis for future document file formats, though there is still no single standard for how such an XML-derivative should optimally be designed. Some would probably suggest DocBook as the most standard-like document format there is, though the file format used by Microsoft Word is arguably the most widespread de facto-standard.
In 1993 the ITU-T tried to establish a standard for document file formats, known as the Open Document Architecture (ODA) which was supposed to replace all competing document file formats. It is described in ITU-T documents T.411 through T.421, which are equivalent to ISO 8613. It did not succeed.
Page description programming languages such as PostScript and PDF has established a de facto-standard for documents that for the typical user are only to be read, not edited.
Common document file formats
- ASCII (.txt)
- Amigaguide
- CHM (Microsoft's help format)
- DocBook
- HLP
- HTML (.html, .htm), in combination with possible image files referred to; IE can also combine these, having just one MHT-file to represent a webpage.
- PDF - many people can read them (since the viewer is free), fewer can make and edit them
- Radix-64
- RTF (a textual encoding of the data in a Word DOC; many programs' Word export filters actually write RTF as RTF is much easier to generate reliably)
- TeX
- Troff
- Microsoft Word (.doc) (Format revised and altered very often; little official documentation)
- WordPerfect (.doc) (note possible confusion with Word format extension)
- XML
See also