DOC, DOCX, RTF, ODF, TXT

If we go back in time, before the possibility of accessing Internet by anyone would change everything, one of the priority tasks to which a computer it was the text process, that is, the process of typing, composing with different fonts, colors and images, and saving them to work with them again later or print them.

What? That this is still one of the primary tasks of a computer? Well, maybe we haven't changed that much ...

A rapid historical evolution

Although we can trace the history of word processors back to 1964 with the IBM MT / ST, really the first text processor as we understand them today was born in 1973 with the Vydec, although probably many of the users of computer solutions and applications of this type today, would not recognize it as such and it would be difficult for them to adapt to a tool that, seen today, is very rudimentary.

Throughout the history of word processors there are names like MultiMate, WordStar, WordPerfect, Apple Writer, or AmiPro, and even computers that exercised, practically only the task of

processor of texts, such as the Amstrad PCW.

Newer word processor names include Microsoft Word and OpenOffice / LibreOffice, as well as the Google Docs online suite.

The different formats

The diversity of word processors, as well as the commercial confrontations to impose the different solutions, have given rise to a ecosystem of different formats of file, which we review below:

• DOC. The Format owner of Microsoft par excellence, whose name comes from the extension of the files generated (or is it the other way around?) and that everyone interprets as the abbreviation of the word DOCument. It has become a standard de facto being widely used by users, although technically the format leaves something to be desired, producing files larger than other formats.
• ODT. Free format chosen by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) based on the XML language that any manufacturer of word processors can implement, and which has become famous above all for its adoption by the OpenOffice / LibreOffice package.
• RTF. Acronyms corresponding to Rich Text Format, was developed by Microsoft at the end of the 80s with the aim of being a multiplatform format, a task that It has more than fulfilled, becoming a de facto standard that all word processors embrace in the most varied platforms. In fact, most lightweight word processors built into operating systems support this format.

• TXT. It constitutes the basic format, since it only presents text, without any type of visual "enrichment" such as fonts or font sizes, nor does it allow mix images with text, not even such simple functionalities for other text processors and formats as right justify. It is simply text, yes, highly portable -although not without problems in this sense- between different operating systems.
• DOCX. It is the new successor to Microsoft's DOC format but, unlike the latter, DOCX has a specification based on the XML markup definition language, so anyone can implement support for he. It was introduced with Word 2007.
• PDF. Although it is not a format to work with the text (there are solutions, but they are not very practical), it is a format to output it, in a kind of printed document that is displayed on the screen. created by Adobe, it has become a standard de facto to distribute documentation such as manuals.
• HTML. Although this markup language is what is needed to compose web pages, it is also valid for any documentation that you want to hang on the Internet and, therefore, all word processors can work with he.

Photos: iStock - South_agency / 4x6

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