[Fwd: Ecma responses to ISO]

[Ben Scott]

On 3/9/07, Bill Sconce <sconce at in-spec-inc.com> wrote:
> 4  OpenXML supports two systems for converting numbers to their date format representations:
> 5     1. The 1900 date base system represents the technical decisions, including technical errors, of a prominent
> 6         early spreadsheet implementation, namely, Lotus 1-2-3TM. This representation provides legacy
> 7         compatibility.
> 8     2. The 1904 date base system that correctly reflects Gregorian calendar dates.
> 9  thus OpenXML does not contradict ISO 8601 or the Gregorian calendar.

  So, according to the above:

  (1) It's not Microsoft's bug, but Lotus's bug.  I guess it's IBM's
bug, now.  Microsoft is maintaining bug-for-bug compatibility.
  (2) It's an optional mode.

  Interesting how those points were left out of the original Groklaw
analysis -- indeed, flatly contradict it.

  Anyone know what the facts are here?

-- Ben