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An electronic document is a document that can be sent in non-physical means, such as telex, email, and the internet. Originally, any computer data were considered as something internal—the final data output was always on paper. However, the development of computer networks has made it so that in most cases it is much more convenient to distribute electronic documents than printed ones. The improvements in electronic visual display technologies made it possible to view documents on a screen instead of printing them (thus saving paper and the space required to store the printed copies).[citation needed] However, using electronic documents for the final presentation instead of paper has created the problem of multiple incompatible file formats. Even plain text computer files are not free from this problem—e.g. under MS-DOS, most programs could not work correctly with UNIX-style text files (see newline), and for non-English speakers, the different code pages always have been a source of trouble.
Even more problems are connected with complex file formats of various word processors, spreadsheets, and graphics software. To alleviate the problem, many software companies distribute free file viewers for their proprietary file formats (one example is Adobe's Acrobat Reader). The other solution is the development of standardized non-proprietary file formats (such as HTML and OpenDocument), and electronic documents for specialized uses have specialized formats—the specialized electronic articles in physics use TeX or PostScript.
See also
- Digital era governance
- Digital library
- Digital media
- E-government
- Ebook
- Electronic paper
- Electronic publishing
- Paperless office
References
- "Definition: electronic document from 7 USC § 241(4) | LII / Legal Information Institute". www.law.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
External links
- What is a digital document
- Digital Imaging Frequent Questions Archived 2015-09-22 at the Wayback Machine
- From ETSI
This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Electronic document news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message An electronic document is a document that can be sent in non physical means such as telex email and the internet Originally any computer data were considered as something internal the final data output was always on paper However the development of computer networks has made it so that in most cases it is much more convenient to distribute electronic documents than printed ones The improvements in electronic visual display technologies made it possible to view documents on a screen instead of printing them thus saving paper and the space required to store the printed copies citation needed However using electronic documents for the final presentation instead of paper has created the problem of multiple incompatible file formats Even plain text computer files are not free from this problem e g under MS DOS most programs could not work correctly with UNIX style text files see newline and for non English speakers the different code pages always have been a source of trouble Even more problems are connected with complex file formats of various word processors spreadsheets and graphics software To alleviate the problem many software companies distribute free file viewers for their proprietary file formats one example is Adobe s Acrobat Reader The other solution is the development of standardized non proprietary file formats such as HTML and OpenDocument and electronic documents for specialized uses have specialized formats the specialized electronic articles in physics use TeX or PostScript See alsoDigital era governance Digital library Digital media E government Ebook Electronic paper Electronic publishing Paperless officeReferences Definition electronic document from 7 USC 241 4 LII Legal Information Institute www law cornell edu Retrieved 2024 05 12 External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Electronic documents What is a digital document Digital Imaging Frequent Questions Archived 2015 09 22 at the Wayback Machine From ETSI
