The Artificial Complexity of Ooxml Files (the Pptx Case)

Posted3 months agoActive3 months ago

marcorentap

4 points

1 comments

blog.documentfoundation.orgTechstory

calmnegative

Debate

10/100

OoxmlPptxFile FormatsDocument Standards

Key topics

Ooxml

Pptx

File Formats

Document Standards

The blog post discusses the artificial complexity of OOXML files, specifically PPTX, and its implications, with the single comment highlighting the need for more scrutiny of such technical issues.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Light discussion

First comment

Peak period

0-1h

Avg / period

Key moments

01Story posted
Oct 12, 2025 at 1:32 PM EDT
3 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Oct 12, 2025 at 1:40 PM EDT
8m after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
1 comments in 0-1h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03
04Latest activity
Oct 12, 2025 at 1:40 PM EDT
3 months ago
Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (1 comments)

Showing 1 comments

cranberryturkey

3 months ago

> In this case, the content is located in eight slide*.xml files (where the asterisk is a sequential number) inside the slide folder within the ppt folder. These folders and files are completely different to those in the XLSX and DOCX files, but information relevant to displaying slides on screen is scattered throughout them. Again, there are no technical reasons for the differences in the XML schemas of the three files other than to make their internal structures more complex. This unnecessary complexity is also reflected in the XML files describing the contents of the presentation.

This is why I absolute hate Microsoft

View full discussion on Hacker News

ID: 45560048Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 10:04:12 AM

Want the full context?

Jump to the original sources

Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.

Open link View on HN