Compound Document Architecture

This issue of the Digital Technical Journal provides a detailed overview of Digital Equipment Corporation's Compound Document Architecture (CDA). It explores the architecture's design, which aims to support seamless data interchange across heterogeneous computing environments. Key topics covered include:

• CDA Architecture and Overview: The foundational model, goals, and components of CDA.
• DDIF (Digital Document Interchange Format): The primary format for revisable text, graphics, and images.
• DTIF (Digital Table Interchange Format): The format designed for tabular data and spreadsheets.
• CDA Toolkit: A procedural library enabling developers to create, manipulate, and convert CDA documents.
• Interapplication Integration: Services like AIL and Builder that facilitate data exchange and integrated workflows between applications.
• DECdecision and DECwrite: Specific product implementations showcasing CDA integration.
• Science and Engineering Applications: Extensions of CDA to support technical and 3D graphical requirements, exemplified by the DECview3D application.