Implementing ODF
In a recent discussion with one of Microsoft’s lobbyists in my Norwegian web log, I presented some brief information on how much time is needed to implement ODF in an application.
The application I work with on a daily basis has support for importing and exporting ODF as text, ODT. I claimed that implementing ODF is rather simple. Microsoft’s lobbyist asked me how this could be. This is a translation of the IM conversation I had with the developer implementing ODF:
I asked:
Do you know approximately how much time you spent on implementing ODF in the application?
He answered:
I wrote the first functional import / export in two days…
I asked:
Do you recall if there was any challenges related to the implementation?
He answered:
Well… It’s mostly straight-forward. A documented XML format. Trivial, I would say.
I asked:
May I quote you on this?
He answered:
Yes
So, If you’re wondering if implementing ODF in your application is a large and complex task, the answer is no. Of course, time for testing, packaging, etc. must be calculated as well. Furthermore, this is just ODT, so you may calculate on a couple of more days for the other parts of ODF. 
