{"id":1874,"date":"2011-08-09T20:28:28","date_gmt":"2011-08-09T20:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.investintech.com\/resources\/blog\/?p=1874"},"modified":"2020-12-21T16:07:11","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T16:07:11","slug":"should-we-add-another-format-to-the-pdf-killer-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investintech.com\/resources\/blog\/archives\/1874-should-we-add-another-format-to-the-pdf-killer-list.html","title":{"rendered":"Should We Add Another Format To The PDF-Killer List?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An interesting tidbit for this week. There\u2019s a new format on the block and it looks like it\u2019s drumming up some buzz as the next PDF-Killer.<\/p>\n<p>The last one to hit the industry, if I remember correctly, was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investintech.com\/xpscentral\/whatisxps\/\">XML Paper Specification (XPS) format<\/a> \u00a0about 4 years ago when Microsoft Office 2007 was being released with XPS creation capabilities. \u00a0This time around, it\u2019s the CDF format\u2014Computable Document Format, a newly innovated open format that puts \u201cinteractive documents\u201d on another level.<\/p>\n<p>Having been developed by the team over at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wolfram.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Wolfram.com<\/a>, the CDF format uses mathematical computation technology to render the live interactive element of its content. The company is known for its computing software program and platform, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wolfram.com\/mathematica\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Mathematica<\/a>, which, in a nutshell, is used for computing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investintech.com\/resources\/blog\/archives\/5692-data-visualizations-infographic.html\">data visualizations<\/a> needed in fields dealing with complex data, information analysis, and mathematical formulae.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the CDF format? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to the site, the CDF is \u201cas everyday as a document, but as interactive as an app.\u201d\u00a0 Instead of simply viewing static text, images, and tables, with a CDF document you can manipulate them through inputting data, clicking on controls, and moving sliders. If you have a graph with data calculated and projected over time, you can modify those values and see the changes visualized&#8211;on the spot.<\/p>\n<p><object width=\"560\" height=\"349\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/nghgWixj4Zw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed width=\"560\" height=\"349\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/nghgWixj4Zw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p>Looking at the CDF files they have on-site, you can see why it\u2019s being called a PDF-Killer. From a user point of view, the CDF format shares a lot of the same basic similarities and uses as the PDF: it requires a file viewer (CDF Player), can contain different types of content, and is only editable in Mathematica or other CDF content creators (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wolfram.com\/cdf\/adopting-cdf\/authoring-cdf\/getting-started-with-cdf.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">creating an interactive CDF<\/a> actually requires a bit of coding rather than a one click creation method, though).<\/p>\n<p>The PDF already has interaction capabilities with the ability to play videos, Flash games, and manipulate 3D objects. But so far, as <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.wolfram.com\/2011\/07\/21\/launching-the-computable-document-format-cdf-dont-compress-the-idea-expand-the-medium\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Conrad Wolfram<\/a> (strategic &amp; international development director of Wolfram) points out, those types of interactivity are pre-generated for you.<\/p>\n<p>The CDF format provides a unique way of creating, consuming, and understanding informational content. \u00a0As it is with all formats, though, each has its own strengths and uses, some of which are necessary, some not. Simple resumes and articles, for example, are still perfectly fine as a PDF. Live data and textbooks, however, may be better in CDF.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than a question of will the CDF replace the PDF, I think the question facing PDF users is how the CDF format will <em>interact <\/em>with PDF files over the long run. The format was just launched, so it\u2019s still in the early stages of adoption. So far, as per the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wolfram.com\/cdf\/faq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">FAQ<\/a>, you can import content from PDFs and the CDF Player plugin is only supported by web browsers (no embedding CDF files in PDF, for instance).<\/p>\n<p>Download the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wolfram.com\/cdf-player\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CDF player<\/a> and take look at a few <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wolfram.com\/cdf\/uses-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CDF examples<\/a> in action for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An interesting tidbit for this week. There\u2019s a new format on the block and it looks like it\u2019s drumming up some buzz as the next PDF-Killer. The last one to hit the industry, if I remember correctly, was the XML Paper Specification (XPS) format \u00a0about 4 years ago when Microsoft Office 2007 was being released &#8230; <a title=\"Should We Add Another Format To The PDF-Killer List?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.investintech.com\/resources\/blog\/archives\/1874-should-we-add-another-format-to-the-pdf-killer-list.html\" aria-label=\"More on Should We Add Another Format To The PDF-Killer List?\">Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[99,32,155,27,98],"class_list":["post-1874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1-about","category-4-news","tag-computers","tag-pdf-file","tag-pdf-format","tag-review","tag-technology"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 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