Re: [TUHS] A question about ls(1)

On 29 Apr 2019 16:44 -0400, from cbbrowne(a)gmail.com (Christopher Browne): At least OpenDocument is an ISO standard; and while it looks at a glance like the Zip file format and compression themselves aren't specified in it (at eight pages, there isn't a lot of room for detailed technical descriptions), ISO/IEC 21320-1:2015 "normatively references the Zip File Format Specification version 6.3.3 of PKWARE® Inc", stating that "[d]ocument container files are conforming Zip files as specified by that document". (Quoted from the summary page.) https://www.iso.org/standard/60101.html https://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/c060101_ISO_IEC_2… I could be wrong, but I don't _think_ that SQLite has reached quite that level of adoption. Also, relational databases have their advantages (I work with them myself), but lots of office-type documents (word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.) inherently have a somewhat hierarchical or run-on data structure, lending themselves well to a hierarchical format. Whether we like it or not, XML also has the advantage of being a well-established standard for data serialization, and _with a schema_, can be readily validated. And if you don't like the outer Zip file container, at least OpenDocument also allows for single flat XML files. (Typical file name extension .fo[dt][gpst], as opposed to .o[dt][gpst] for the Zip container counterpart.) I'm pretty sure LibreOffice can be set up to save as such files even by default, if that's your cup of tea. Those get awfully big the moment you start including any non-trivial content, though. -- Michael Kjörling • https://michael.kjorling.se • michael(a)kjorling.se “The most dangerous thought that you can have as a creative person is to think you know what you’re doing.” (Bret Victor)