Adobe Systems Inc. unveiled Tuesday plans for design software to build documents that leverage XML for processing data in business software.
The as-yet unnamed product will enable companies to create and distribute documents using Adobe's popular Portable Document Format, or PDF, for presenting data, and extensible markup language, an emerging web services technology, for processing the data in database management systems, customer service applications or other business software.
Microsoft also plans to leverage XML in its new InfoPath product, which will be a part of the next major release of its Office productivity suite. The release is expected in a few months.
Adobe, however, relies on PDF and free Adobe software to read the document format. Microsoft's InfoPath forms, on the other hand, will be used only by those who purchase the software.
"The new form design software will give our customers the power and flexibility to create sophisticated, intelligent forms that capture business critical information for enterprise systems, while ensuring that the information can be shared or reused in business processes inside and outside the firewall," Ivan Koon, senior vice president of Adobe's e-paper unit, said in a statement.
Adobe plans to release the XML/PDF form designer for beta testing in the fourth quarter.
Adobe announced in April its XML architecture for document creation and distribution. At the time, the San Jose, Calif., company said it would deliver over the next few months a new tool for designing XML and PDF templates and forms, make the XML architecture specification publicly available, and deliver an XML toolkit for developers to provide access to PDF file content from common scripting languages and Java.
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Source:
iWeek
