Digital

NAME

CDA − Compound Document Architecture

DESCRIPTION

Digital’s CDA(TM) architecture is an enabling technology for the creation and storage of compound documents and tabular data encompassing multiple interchange formats, services, and applications. 

The CDA architecture defines two document formats and a mail syntax for the sharing and transport of revisable compound document and tabular file formats:

•DDIF(TM) (Digital Document Interchange Format) is the interchange and application file format for compound documents containing text, graphics, images, and audio. 

•DTIF(TM) (Digital Table Interchange Format) is the interchange and application file format for tabular data, such as spreadsheets and multi-dimensional tables. 

•DOTS (Data Object Transport Syntax) is a transparent interface for the transfer of compound documents with external links to multiple subfiles via mail systems. 

DDIF, DTIF, and DOTS are based on DDIS (Digital Data Interchange Syntax), an ASN.1 syntax that conforms to the specifications of International Standards Organization Abstract Syntax Notation One (ISO ASN.1). 

DEC CDA Run-Time Services provides the facilities for CDA applications to create, store, interchange, and display CDA-supported compound document and tabular file formats. The run-time environment includes the following:

•A library of callable routines used by applications capable of reading and writing DDIF (Digital Document Interchange Format) and DTIF (Digital Table Interchange Format) files and invoking CDA converters. 

•A command line interface to display and convert revisable compound document and tabular files from one format to another using the run-time converters.  A windows-based CDA Viewer provides the option to display CDA documents on workstations which have installed Motif(R). 

For more information on converting files, refer to manpages for the cdoc command, cda_msg, and run-time converters: ddifanls, ddifps, ddiftext, dtifddif, dtifanls, and textddif. 

For more information on viewing files, refer to manpages for the vdoc and dxvdoc commands, dvr_msg, and cda_msg. 

Network services such as X11 mail, DECnet(TM), the File Transfer Protocol, DEC(TM) MAILworks(TM), PATHWORKS(TM), ACA(TM) LiveLinks(TM) support transfer of CDA documents among key NAS(TM) platforms: VMS(TM) DECwindows(TM) Motif(R), Sun SPARCstations, MS-DOS(R) Microsoft(R) Windows(TM), and OS/2(TM). For more information, refer to manpages for DOTS and the dtoc and ctod commands. 

Sun and SPARCstation are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. 

Motif is a registered trademark of Open Software Foundation, Inc. 

MS-DOS and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 

Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 

ACA, CDA, DDIF, DEC MAILworks, DEC, DECnet, DECwindows, DTIF, LiveLinks, NAS, PATHWORKS, VMS, and the Digital logo are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. 

OS/2 is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 

RELATED INFORMATION

cdoc(1), ctod(1), ddifanls(1), ddifps(1), ddiftext(1), dtifanls(1), dtifddif(1), dtoc(1), dxvdoc(1X), textddif(1), vdoc(1), cda_msg(4), ddif(4), ddis(4), dots(4), dtif(4), dvr_msg(4)