A format design case study: PDF

ABSTRACT

We explain how the Portable Document Format was designed based upon some specific design criteria that were developed to make an advance beyond previous technology. The environmental variables (computing power, business climate) that affected the design are also discussed.

REFERENCES

• 1: Richard Cohn, Portable Document Format Reference Manual, Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1993
• 2: Portable Document Format Reference Manual, Fourth Edition, Adobe Systems Incorporated, http://partners.adobe.com/asn/tech/pdf, ISBN 0-201-758393.
• 3: CORPORATE Adobe Systems Inc., PostScript language reference (3rd ed.), Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1999
• 4: Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), ISO Standard 8879:1986, http://www.iso.org.
• 5: HyperText Markup Language (HTML), World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation, http://www.w3.org/MarkUP.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  E. Data
  E.5 FILES
      Subjects: Organization/structure

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.1 Process Management

  E. Data
  E.5 FILES

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Languages, Standardization

Keywords:
HTML, PDF, SGML, compound document, document format, electronic document, file format, formatting, layout