The format for archiving

In computing, a format can be defined as the way a data type is represented within a binary string

What is a format?

In computing, a format can be defined as the way a data type is represented within a binary string. It serves as a convention, sometimes standardized, used by information systems to represent content — particularly in the case of digital documents — so that users can access it on a display device.

It also allows systems to exchange data, which — together with public interfaces and the absence of restrictions on access or implementation — forms an essential part of the concept of interoperability. When content is stored in a file system, it is referred to as a file format.

Open, closed, standard, sustainable?

A format whose specifications are publicly accessible is called an open format. Conversely, the specification of a closed format is kept secret and can generally only be fully used by software, or a suite of software, that is itself not open.

A standardized format is formally standardized by a public or international institution (NF, ISO, W3C). This allows organizations to access the specification in order to process the content by developing suitable software.

A proprietary format is designed by a company, primarily for commercial purposes. Even when open and standardized, the company behind it may try to retain control or exclusivity by imposing frequent changes, or even by not adhering to the specifications in the software it publishes to generate documents in that format.

Some closed, proprietary formats can also become de facto standards when they are widely used and adopted by the majority. One might think that such formats — for example, those used by non-free office suites — are suitable for document archiving, since they can be easily used by end users.

This is a mistake!

First, the non-free nature of the software implies restrictions on access to the information it contains, since users must acquire usage rights.

Next, as we have seen, the software vendor can decide to change the standard without notice, rendering previous versions obsolete and usable only with software that provides some form of backward compatibility.

Finally, the software may simply no longer be maintained, whether because the vendor’s strategy has changed or because it has itself disappeared from the market.

To be sustainable, a digital content format must be either open or standardized, and it must be interoperable.

CINES (the French National Computing Centre for Higher Education) provides on its website a list of digital document formats it accepts for archiving documents related to higher education and research. (see facile.cines.fr)