Go-oo

Last updated

Go-oo
Developer(s) Novell
Initial releaseOctober 8, 2007;16 years ago (2007-10-08)
Written in C++
Operating system Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X
Type Office suite
License GNU Lesser General Public License
Websitego-oo.org (defunct)

Go-oo (also Go-Open Office; [1] previously called ooo-build [2] ) is a discontinued free office suite which started as a set of patches for OpenOffice.org, then later became an independent fork of OpenOffice.org with a number of enhancements, sponsored by Novell.

Contents

ooo-build was started in 2003. The go-oo.org domain name was being used by 2005. [3] The first separate release of Go-oo was 2.3.0, in October 2007. Go-oo was discontinued in favour of LibreOffice in September 2010. [4] [5]

Go-oo had better support for the Microsoft Office OOXML file formats than OpenOffice.org, [6] including write support, as well as other enhancements that had not been accepted upstream. [7] Many free software advocates worried that Go-oo was a Novell effort to incorporate Microsoft technologies that might be vulnerable to patent claims, and that the effort legitimized OOXML which harmed actual document compatibility. [8] The hybrid PDF export (PDF that includes original source documents), Sun Presentation Minimizer, and other functionalities were directly available in Go-oo. Later analysis of Novell's contract with Microsoft show that Go-oo feature compatibility was intentionally limited. [9] LibreOffice in later distributions, like Debian Stretch, uses Java instead of Mono. [10]

The package branded "OpenOffice.org" in many popular Linux distributions was in fact Go-oo, not the upstream OpenOffice.org code. [11] [12] [13] [14]

History

The ooo-build patchset was started at Ximian in 2003, before that company was bought by Novell. This was originally because Sun was slow to accept outside patches to OpenOffice.org, even from corporate partners. [15] Most Linux distributions used ooo-build rather than OpenOffice.org upstream code directly. [16]

Since the end of 2007, [7] various Linux distributions, including SUSE in its various forms, [17] Debian and Ubuntu, had cooperated in maintaining Go-oo as a large set of patches to the upstream OpenOffice.org that, for various technical or bureaucratic reasons, [1] had not been accepted (or, in some cases, even submitted) upstream. [18] [19] [20] Others also offered Windows builds based on Go-oo, e.g. OxygenOffice Professional and OpenOffice.org Novell Edition.

Michael Meeks, from Novell (who also worked on OpenOffice.org and GNOME), said that the differentiation was done because Sun Microsystems wanted to preserve the right to sell the code on a proprietary basis, as they did for IBM Lotus Symphony. [4] Sun was accused of not accepting contributions from the community. [2] [21] Go-oo encouraged outside contributions, with rules similar to those later adopted for LibreOffice. [22]

In September 2010, The Document Foundation announced LibreOffice as a fully separate fork of OpenOffice.org. Go-oo was deprecated in favour of LibreOffice and Go-oo changes were incorporated into LibreOffice. LibreOffice and Collabora Online are current descendants of Go-oo.

StarOffice major derivatives.svg
A timeline of major derivatives of StarOffice and OpenOffice.org with Go-oo in orange

Versions

Stable builds of Go-oo were usually available a couple of days after OpenOffice.org stable builds. Windows builds had a different last number in the version's number than Linux builds. [23] A stable version for Macintosh computers was available. [24]

WindowsLinuxMacintosh
VersionAvailable fromVersionAvailable fromVersionAvailable from
2.3.0 (unstable)October 8, 20072.3.0 (unstable)November 14, 2007
2.4.0April 30, 20082.4.0 (unstable)February 20, 2008
2.4.1June 10, 20082.4.1June 26, 2008
3.0October 22, 20083.0.0November 21, 2008
3.0.1February 4, 20093.0.1February 5, 2009
3.1.0June 2, 20093.1.0June 2, 20093.1.0May 28, 2009
3.1.1September 16, 20093.1.1September 5, 20093.1.1September 4, 2009
3.2.0 (3.2.0-13)February 26, 20103.2.0February 26, 20103.2.0 (3.2.0.13)February 26, 2010
3.2.1 (3.2.1-11)July 21, 20103.2.1July 21, 20103.2.1June 4, 2010

Differences between OpenOffice.org and Go-oo

Advantages

Features

  • Go-oo includes 3-D transition effects in Presentations (Linux). [28]
  • Use of the GStreamer multimedia framework in Linux for multimedia content; [26]
  • Go-oo uses a combo box in place of the zoom button in stock OpenOffice.org. Newer OOo 2.x feature releases have a clickable status bar item for a zoom menu. A zoom slider was introduced to OOo 3.0 Writer and later added to OOo 3.1 Calc, Impress and Draw components.
  • Go-oo Calc 2.4.x has a built in function called "Solver". It is a little different from the Solver function of the same name, which is available from OpenOffice.org 3.0. OpenOffice.org 2.4.x has no Solver.[ citation needed ]

Filetype support

  • Go-oo can write OOXML files, and not just read them.
Import
  • Go-oo 2.4.x has built in support for opening Office Open XML files and brings this function also for Windows 98/ME users. (Note: OpenOffice.org 3.x has built in support for opening Office Open XML documents, but those versions of OOo cannot be installed under Windows 98/ME.)
  • VBA macro support;
  • Microsoft Works filetype import; [26]
  • Lotus Word Pro import;
  • Go-oo Draw has built-in functionality to open SVG files. OpenOffice Draw requires an extension. [29] [30] [31]
  • The PDF Import extension is included by default in Go-oo 3.0.
  • Improved EMF drawing;
  • WordPerfect Graphics import.
Save/Export
  • From version 3.0 on, Go-oo can save password-protected XLS files. It uses only one basic encryption method compatible with many spreadsheet applications (for example Gnumeric).
  • Go-oo 3.x can save Office Open XML files such as docx, xlsx, pptx by using Novell OpenXML Converter. [32] Because Go-oo for Windows and OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows are similar, Novell OpenXML Converter can work with Go-oo 3.x. [33]

Disadvantages

Other differences

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WordPerfect</span> Word processing application

WordPerfect (WP) is a word processing application, now owned by Alludo, with a long history on multiple personal computer platforms. At the height of its popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s, it was the dominant player in the word processor market, displacing the prior market leader WordStar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenOffice.org</span> Discontinued free office software

OpenOffice.org (OOo), commonly known as OpenOffice, is a discontinued open-source office suite. Active successor projects include LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, Collabora Online and NeoOffice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">StarOffice</span> Office productivity suite software

StarOffice is a discontinued proprietary office suite. Its source code continues today in derived open-source office suites Collabora Online and LibreOffice. StarOffice supported the OpenOffice.org XML file format, as well as the OpenDocument standard, and could generate PDF and Flash formats. It included templates, a macro recorder, and a software development kit (SDK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNOME Evolution</span> Personal information manager software and workgroup information management tool for GNOME

GNOME Evolution is the official personal information manager for GNOME. It has been an official part of GNOME since Evolution 2.0 was included with the GNOME 2.8 release in September 2004. It combines e-mail, address book, calendar, task list and note-taking features. Its user interface and functionality is similar to Microsoft Outlook. Evolution is free software licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).

The Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), also known as OpenDocument, is an open file format for word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and graphics and using ZIP-compressed XML files. It was developed with the aim of providing an open, XML-based file format specification for office applications.

Openclipart, also called Open Clip Art Library, is an online media repository of free-content vector clip art. The project hosts over 160,000 free graphics and has billed itself as "the largest community of artists making the best free original clipart for you to use for absolutely any reason".

A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a comparison of vector graphics editors based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export.

This is an overview of software support for the OpenDocument format, an open document file format for saving and exchanging editable office documents.

The Office Open XML file formats, also known as OOXML, were standardised between December 2006 and November 2008, first by the Ecma International consortium, and subsequently, after a contentious standardization process, by the ISO/IEC's Joint Technical Committee 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moblin</span>

Moblin, short for 'mobile Linux', is a discontinued open source operating system and application stack for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), netbooks, nettops and embedded devices.

sK1 (program) Open source cross platform illustration program

sK1 is an open-source, cross-platform illustration program that seeks to be a substitute for professional proprietary software like CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator. Unique project features are CorelDRAW formats importers, tabbed multiple document interface, Cairo-based engine, and color management.

The Office Open XML format (OOXML), is an open and free document file format for saving and exchanging editable office documents such as text documents, spreadsheets, charts, and presentations.

The Office Open XML file formats are a set of file formats that can be used to represent electronic office documents. There are formats for word processing documents, spreadsheets and presentations as well as specific formats for material such as mathematical formulas, graphics, bibliographies etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LibreOffice</span> Free and open-source office software suite

LibreOffice is a free and open-source office productivity software suite, a project of The Document Foundation (TDF). It was forked in 2010 from OpenOffice.org, an open-sourced version of the earlier StarOffice. The LibreOffice suite consists of programs for word processing, creating and editing spreadsheets, slideshows, diagrams, and drawings, working with databases, and composing mathematical formulae. It is available in 115 languages. TDF does not provide support for LibreOffice, but enterprise-focused editions are available from companies in the ecosystem.

The Document Foundation (TDF) is a non-profit organization that promotes open-source document handling software. It was created by members of the OpenOffice.org community to manage and develop LibreOffice, a free and open-source office suite, and is legally registered in Germany as a Stiftung. Its goal is to produce a vendor-independent office suite with ODF support in a development environment free from company control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LibreOffice Calc</span> Spreadsheet component of LibreOffice

LibreOffice Calc is the spreadsheet component of the LibreOffice software package.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LibreOffice Draw</span> Vector graphics editing software

LibreOfficeDraw is a free and open source vector graphics editor. It is one of the applications included in the LibreOffice office suite, developed by The Document Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apache OpenOffice</span> Free and open-source office software suite

Apache OpenOffice (AOO) is an open-source office productivity software suite. It is one of the successor projects of OpenOffice.org and the designated successor of IBM Lotus Symphony. It was a close cousin of LibreOffice, Collabora Online and NeoOffice in 2014. It contains a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet (Calc), a presentation application (Impress), a drawing application (Draw), a formula editor (Math), and a database management application (Base).

References

  1. 1 2 Hillesley, Richard (April 17, 2009). "IBM, Sun and OpenOffice.org". ITPro. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Sun Refuses LGPL for OpenOffice; Novell forks". Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
  3. Meeks, Michael (January 28, 2005). "ooo-build 1.3.8 Announced". LWN.net. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Reviewed July 7, 2008, Der Standard interview with Michael Meeks". Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
  5. Jake Edge (September 28, 2010). "Michael Meeks talks about LibreOffice and the Document Foundation". LWN.net.
  6. "odf-converter-integrator". Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Thoma, Jörg (October 6, 2010). "Oracle erteilt dem Communityprojekt eine Absage" (in German). Golem.de . Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  8. Byfield, Bruce (January 7, 2009). "OpenOffice.org vs. Go-OO: Cutting through the Gordian Knot". Datamation. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  9. "Microsoft, Standards, and Incompatibility: 1991-2010 -- And a Novell Smoking Gun - Updated 2Xs". Groklaw. December 20, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  10. "Package: libreoffice (1:5.2.7-1+deb9u4)". Debian. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  11. "Gentoo's OpenOffice Package". Archived from the original on July 22, 2011.
  12. "Bug #151829 in openoffice.org (Ubuntu): "Include go-oo in Ubuntu"". Chris Cheney, Ubuntu's OpenOffice.org package maintainer. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  13. "Linux.com :: Go-OO: The best office suite you never knew you used". Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
  14. 1 2 Go-oo derivates in Linux distributions Archived December 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "About OOO-build". Archived from the original on October 18, 2003.
  16. James, Daniel (May 7, 2007). "Meek not geek - Interview with Michael Meeks of OpenOffice.org". Tux Deluxe. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  17. Yoshida, Kohei (October 2, 2007). "History of Calc Solver" . Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  18. "Ooo-build - collection of patches, artwork and build infrastructure". Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  19. "Building ooo-build from source". December 22, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  20. "Editions of OpenOffice.org". Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
  21. Can IBM save OpenOffice.org from itself? Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  22. Hillesley, Richard (January 29, 2009). "Healthcheck: OpenOffice: Calling a cat a dog". The H Open. p. 4. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  23. "Go-oo download". Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
  24. "Go-oo Mac OS X-Intel version". Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  25. "The fastest OpenOffice.org edition". Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Proschofsky, Andreas (July 27, 2008). "Sun dropping out of OpenOffice.org development wouldn't be an entirely negative thing". Der Standard . Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  27. "Dictionaries in OpenOffice.org 3". Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
  28. "What is Go-oo? - What is Go-oo and how is it related to Open Office". Archived from the original on January 20, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  29. SVG Import Filter Archived December 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine - OpenOffice.org wiki
  30. SVG Import Extension Archived June 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine - OpenOffice.org repository for extensions
  31. SVG Tiny Import/Export Archived May 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (does not work with OOo 3.1) - OpenOffice.org repository for extensions
  32. "Download OpenOffice.org–OpenXML translator". Novell. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
  33. 1 2 "OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows". Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  34. "Tango style OpenOffice.org". Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
  35. OpenOffice.org 3.0 icons Archived July 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  36. "OpenOffice.org first start wizard". Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2008.