Go-oo explained

Go-oo
Developer:	Novell
Programming Language:	C++
Operating System:	Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X
Discontinued:	yes
Genre:	Office suite
License:	GNU Lesser General Public License
Website:	go-oo.org (defunct)

Go-oo (also Go-Open Office; previously called ooo-build) is a discontinued free office suite which started as a set of patches for OpenOffice.org, then later became an independent fork of OpenOffice.org with a number of enhancements, sponsored by Novell.

ooo-build was started in 2003. The go-oo.org domain name was being used by 2005.^[1] The first separate release of Go-oo was 2.3.0, in October 2007. Go-oo was discontinued in favour of LibreOffice in September 2010.^[2]

Go-oo had better support for the Microsoft Office OOXML file formats than OpenOffice.org,^[3] including write support, as well as other enhancements that had not been accepted upstream.^[4] Many free software advocates worried that Go-oo was a Novell effort to incorporate Microsoft technologies that might be vulnerable to patent claims, and that the effort legitimized OOXML which harmed actual document compatibility.^[5] The hybrid PDF export (PDF that includes original source documents), Sun Presentation Minimizer, and other functionalities were directly available in Go-oo. Later analysis of Novell's contract with Microsoft show that Go-oo feature compatibility was intentionally limited.^[6] LibreOffice in later distributions, like Debian Stretch, uses Java instead of Mono.^[7]

The package branded "OpenOffice.org" in many popular Linux distributions was in fact Go-oo, not the upstream OpenOffice.org code.^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

History

The ooo-build patchset was started at Ximian in 2003, before that company was bought by Novell. This was originally because Sun was slow to accept outside patches to OpenOffice.org, even from corporate partners.^[12] Most Linux distributions used ooo-build rather than OpenOffice.org upstream code directly.^[13]

Since the end of 2007, various Linux distributions, including SUSE in its various forms,^[14] Debian and Ubuntu, had cooperated in maintaining Go-oo as a large set of patches to the upstream OpenOffice.org that, for various technical or bureaucratic reasons,^[15] had not been accepted (or, in some cases, even submitted) upstream.^{[16] [17] [18]} Others also offered Windows builds based on Go-oo, e.g. OxygenOffice Professional and OpenOffice.org Novell Edition.

Michael Meeks, from Novell (who also worked on OpenOffice.org and GNOME), said that the differentiation was done because Sun Microsystems wanted to preserve the right to sell the code on a proprietary basis, as they did for IBM Lotus Symphony.^[19] Sun was accused of not accepting contributions from the community.^{[20] [21]} Go-oo encouraged outside contributions, with rules similar to those later adopted for LibreOffice.^[22]

In September 2010, The Document Foundation announced LibreOffice as a fully separate fork of OpenOffice.org. Go-oo was deprecated in favour of LibreOffice and Go-oo changes were incorporated into LibreOffice. LibreOffice and Collabora Online are current descendants of Go-oo.

Versions

Stable builds of Go-oo were usually available a couple of days after OpenOffice.org stable builds. Windows builds had a different last number in the version's number than Linux builds.^[23] A stable version for Macintosh computers was available.^[24]

Windows		Linux		Macintosh
Version	Available from	Version	Available from	Version	Available from
2.3.0 (unstable)	October 8, 2007	2.3.0 (unstable)	November 14, 2007	rowspan=5 colspan=2
2.4.0	April 30, 2008	2.4.0 (unstable)	February 20, 2008
2.4.1	June 10, 2008	2.4.1	June 26, 2008
3.0	October 22, 2008	3.0.0	November 21, 2008
3.0.1	February 4, 2009	3.0.1	February 5, 2009
3.1.0	June 2, 2009	3.1.0	June 2, 2009	3.1.0	May 28, 2009
3.1.1	September 16, 2009	3.1.1	September 5, 2009	3.1.1	September 4, 2009
3.2.0 (3.2.0-13)	February 26, 2010	3.2.0	February 26, 2010	3.2.0 (3.2.0.13)	February 26, 2010
3.2.1 (3.2.1-11)	July 21, 2010	3.2.1	July 21, 2010	3.2.1	June 4, 2010

Differences between OpenOffice.org and Go-oo

Advantages

• Go-oo works faster in some operations than OpenOffice.org.^[25] This makes it perform faster than OpenOffice.org.
• The OpenOffice.org 3.0 installation no longer includes a large number of dictionaries for writing aids (spell checker, hyphenation and thesaurus), as this impacted application performance. Localised releases may include dictionaries for particular primary and secondary languages. Dictionaries are now available as downloadable extensions, separately for each language.^[26] Go-oo installation from version 3 on includes dictionaries in many languages, as a single extension, being a part of installation files. Inclusion of a large number of dictionaries in a default installation may affect performance.
• Better Chinese font rendering.

Features

• Go-oo includes 3-D transition effects in Presentations (Linux).^[27]
• Use of the GStreamer multimedia framework in Linux for multimedia content;^[28]
• Go-oo uses a combo box in place of the zoom button in stock OpenOffice.org. Newer OOo 2.x feature releases have a clickable status bar item for a zoom menu. A zoom slider was introduced to OOo 3.0 Writer and later added to OOo 3.1 Calc, Impress and Draw components.
• Go-oo Calc 2.4.x has a built in function called "Solver". It is a little different from the Solver function of the same name, which is available from OpenOffice.org 3.0. OpenOffice.org 2.4.x has no Solver.

Filetype support

• Go-oo can write OOXML files, and not just read them.

Import

• Go-oo 2.4.x has built in support for opening Office Open XML files and brings this function also for Windows 98/ME users. (Note: OpenOffice.org 3.x has built in support for opening Office Open XML documents, but those versions of OOo cannot be installed under Windows 98/ME.)
• VBA macro support;
• Microsoft Works filetype import;
• Lotus Word Pro import;
• Go-oo Draw has built-in functionality to open SVG files. OpenOffice Draw requires an extension.^{[29] [30] [31]}
• The PDF Import extension is included by default in Go-oo 3.0.
• Improved EMF drawing;
• WordPerfect Graphics import.

Save/Export

• From version 3.0 on, Go-oo can save password-protected XLS files. It uses only one basic encryption method compatible with many spreadsheet applications (for example Gnumeric).
• Go-oo 3.x can save Office Open XML files such as docx, xlsx, pptx by using Novell OpenXML Converter.^[32] Because Go-oo for Windows and OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows are similar, Novell OpenXML Converter can work with Go-oo 3.x.^[33]

Disadvantages

• Go-oo localizations are available only as language packs to the English installation. Translations of the user interface and dictionaries for different languages in Go-oo are in some cases not the same as in OpenOffice.org.

Other differences

• Go-oo uses "Tango style" application shortcut icons, quick launch icons and icons for associated files.^{[34] [35]}
• Go-oo installation files were usually available for download a couple of days after OpenOffice.org builds were released.
• Go-oo for Windows was similar to OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows. For example, Go-oo has version 3.0-19 and Novell Edition 3.0-22.^[33]
• The first time OpenOffice.org is started, a wizard opens to guide a user through the setting of user name and the registration process.^[36] This wizard is disabled in Go-oo.

See also

• List of word processors
• Comparison of word processors
• Office Open XML software
• OpenDocument software

External links

• Last version of go-oo.org

Notes and References

1. Web site: ooo-build 1.3.8 Announced. Michael. Meeks. LWN.net. 28 January 2005. 1 October 2013.
2. News: Michael Meeks talks about LibreOffice and the Document Foundation . Jake Edge . September 28, 2010 . LWN.net.
3. Web site: odf-converter-integrator. October 18, 2010. November 1, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101101174355/http://katana.oooninja.com/w/odf-converter-integrator. dead.
4. Web site: Oracle erteilt dem Communityprojekt eine Absage. November 29, 2012. German. October 6, 2010. Golem.de. Jörg. Thoma.
5. Web site: OpenOffice.org vs. Go-OO: Cutting through the Gordian Knot. https://web.archive.org/web/20090323073107/http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/12068_3794611_1. March 23, 2009 . 7 January 2009. Bruce. Byfield. Datamation. 15 August 2015.
6. Web site: Microsoft, Standards, and Incompatibility: 1991-2010 -- And a Novell Smoking Gun - Updated 2Xs. 20 December 2010. Groklaw. 30 August 2018.
7. Web site: Package: libreoffice (1:5.2.7-1+deb9u4). Debian. August 30, 2018.
8. Web site: Gentoo's OpenOffice Package . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722192729/http://packages.gentoo.org/package/app-office/openoffice?full_cat . July 22, 2011.
9. Web site: Bug #151829 in openoffice.org (Ubuntu): "Include go-oo in Ubuntu". Chris Cheney, Ubuntu's OpenOffice.org package maintainer. January 28, 2009.
10. Web site: Linux.com :: Go-OO: The best office suite you never knew you used . December 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090210192845/http://www.linux.com/feature/154364 . February 10, 2009 .
11. http://go-oo.org/download/ Go-oo derivates in Linux distributions
12. Web site: About OOO-build. https://web.archive.org/web/20031018013700/http://ooo.ximian.com/ooo-build.html. October 18, 2003.
13. Web site: Meek not geek - Interview with Michael Meeks of OpenOffice.org. Tux Deluxe. Daniel. James. 7 May 2007. 1 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130929232956/http://www.tuxdeluxe.org/node/184. September 29, 2013.
14. Web site: History of Calc Solver. 29 December 2012. 2 October 2007. Kohei. Yoshida.
15. Web site: IBM, Sun and OpenOffice.org. 24 November 2012. Richard. Hillesley. 17 April 2009. ITPro. https://web.archive.org/web/20090420032339/http://www.itpro.co.uk/610553/ibm-sun-and-openoffice-org. April 20, 2009 .
16. Web site: Ooo-build - collection of patches, artwork and build infrastructure . December 21, 2008 . December 19, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081219164404/http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Ooo-build . live .
17. Web site: Building ooo-build from source. December 22, 2007. February 9, 2010.
18. Web site: Editions of OpenOffice.org . December 24, 2008 . December 2, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101202144028/http://katana.oooninja.com/w/editions_of_openoffice.org . dead .
19. Web site: Reviewed July 7, 2008, Der Standard interview with Michael Meeks . August 17, 2008 . August 19, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080819024455/http://derstandard.at/?url=%2F%3Fid%3D1216917892794 . live .
20. Web site: Sun Refuses LGPL for OpenOffice; Novell forks . December 20, 2008 . November 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221125230756/https://slashdot.org/story/07/10/03/1212234/sun-refuses-lgpl-for-openoffice-novell-forks . live .
21. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&articleId=9037499 Can IBM save OpenOffice.org from itself?
22. Web site: Healthcheck: OpenOffice: Calling a cat a dog. 4. Richard. Hillesley. The H Open. 29 January 2009. 26 June 2013.
23. Web site: Go-oo download . December 20, 2008 . August 26, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130826073813/http://go-oo.mirrorbrain.org/stable/ . dead .
24. Web site: Go-oo Mac OS X-Intel version . October 17, 2010 . October 17, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101017134001/http://go-oo.mirrorbrain.org/stable/mac/3.2.1/ . dead .
25. Web site: The fastest OpenOffice.org edition . December 16, 2008 . December 18, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081218220615/http://www.oooninja.com/2008/09/fastest-openofficeorg-edition-benchmark.html . live .
26. Web site: Dictionaries in OpenOffice.org 3 . December 20, 2008 . May 12, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120512051114/http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Dictionaries . live .
27. Web site: What is Go-oo? - What is Go-oo and how is it related to Open Office . January 7, 2009 . January 20, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090120051757/http://what-is-what.com/what_is/go-oo.html . live .
28. Web site: Sun dropping out of OpenOffice.org development wouldn't be an entirely negative thing. Andreas. Proschofsky. 27 July 2008. 24 November 2012. Der Standard.
29. http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/SVG_Import_Filter SVG Import Filter
30. http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/svgimport SVG Import Extension
31. http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/SVGTiny2OO SVG Tiny Import/Export
32. Web site: Download OpenOffice.org–OpenXML translator. Novell. January 12, 2009.
33. Web site: OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows . December 21, 2008 . December 17, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081217163854/http://www.novell.com/products/openofficewindows/ . live .
34. Web site: Tango style OpenOffice.org . December 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150906111805/http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Showroom#OpenOffice.org . September 6, 2015 .
35. http://ui.openoffice.org/nonav/VisualDesign/OOo30MimeType.html OpenOffice.org 3.0 icons
36. Web site: OpenOffice.org first start wizard . December 20, 2008 . December 16, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081216010916/http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/Administration_Guide/Deactivating_Registration_Wizard . live .