Overview
ISO/IEC 8613-6:1994 - Information technology - Open Document Architecture (ODA) and Interchange Format: Character content architectures - is the second edition (1994) that cancels and replaces the 1989 edition. The standard defines how character-level content is represented and exchanged within the ODA framework to support reliable document interchange, either to reproduce the originator’s intended presentation or to enable further processing (editing, reformatting). It applies to interchange by data communications or by exchanging storage media.
Key topics and technical requirements
The standard specifies the character content architectures required for interoperable ODA documents, including:
- Content architecture classes and the distinction between formatted content and processable content.
- Presentation attributes (fonts, emphasis, color, underlining, weight, posture) and how they affect rendering.
- Character positioning and layout concepts: character image model, spacing, active position, positioning areas, line boxes, alignment, tabulation, pairwise kerning, first-line offset and itemization.
- Character imaging and character combinations such as subscript/superscript and parallel annotations.
- Control functions and the Character SPACE: carriage return (CR), line feed (LF), kerning and spacing controls, selective tabulation, code extension announcers and other layout/control primitives used to encode flow and presentation.
- Graphit characters and rendition: definition of graphical character sets, subrepertoires and rendition attributes.
- Coding and internal structure: coding attributes, content portion attributes, and formal data-type definitions used to represent character content in interchange.
- Font selection and invocation mechanisms and interactions between presentation attributes and layout directives.
- Formal representations for presentation and coding attributes to enable consistent processing across systems.
Applications
ISO/IEC 8613-6 is used wherever accurate and interoperable transfer of character-level document information is required:
- Document interchange between different word processors, publishing systems and print workflows
- Long-term digital preservation and archival of formatted documents
- Conversion and migration tools that translate ODA to other document formats
- Enterprise content management, government records, and legal or regulated workflows requiring faithful reproduction or re-editing of documents
Who uses this standard
- Software developers and implementers of ODA-compliant editors, converters and print drivers
- Systems integrators building document interchange workflows
- Archivists, libraries and digital preservation specialists
- Standards bodies and interoperability testers concerned with document fidelity
Related standards
- Other parts of the ISO/IEC 8613 (ODA) series that define object and interchange structures, and related interchange format rules.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 8613-6, Open Document Architecture, ODA, character content architectures, document interchange, presentation attributes, character positioning, control functions, interoperability, digital preservation.