Open XML Resources for Developers

Doug has a great post today that helps get us back to what really matters in this whole file format discussion (at least if you're a developer). He links to a number of existing resources that can help folks who are just now getting started with Open XML development, as well as more advanced links for folks who've already started working with the formats: https://blogs.msdn.com/dmahugh/archive/2008/03/31/open-xml-resources-for-developers.aspx

Like many people, I thought we'd know the official outcome of the DIS 29500 process today, but it looks like we won't hear the official results until after ISO has had a chance to run them by the national bodies who participated in the review of the specification, which according to Reuters will be Wednesday.

While we wait, I've been thinking about how much attention this process has been getting, especially in recent months. Back when Ecma submitted the ECMA-376 standard to ISO at the beginning of 2007 (451 days ago, if my math is right), a relatively small number of people were following the discussion around document format standards. That group has expanded significantly, and there are now many people following the story of Open XML and DIS 29500.

Since some of those people may be developers who didn't see all of the Open XML content that has been made available in the past, I decided to pull together a list of links to various resources for Open XML developers. The list is included below. I'm sure I've left out a few good resources, so please let me know in the comments if you know of a useful Open XML developer resource that I've not included here.

-Brian