Overview
ISO/IEC 8613-7:1994 - part of the Open Document Architecture (ODA) family - defines a raster graphics content architecture for document interchange. This second edition (1994) supersedes the 1989 edition and applies to exchanging documents via data communication or storage media. The standard supports two interchange goals: preserving the originator’s intended presentation and enabling further processing (editing/reformatting). It specifies the structure, attributes and coding needed to represent raster images (bitmaps) inside ODA interchanged documents.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Raster content architecture: formal definition of raster image objects within ODA, including presentation and content-portion models.
- Presentation attributes: clipping, line progression, pel path, initial offset, pel transmission density, image dimensions, pel spacing and spacing ratio - all required to render raster content consistently.
- Content portion attributes: coding type, compression, lines/ pels per line, tiling parameters, bits per colour component and interleaving formats.
- Pel positioning and coordinate systems: measurement units, pel arrays, tiling, clipped/discarded pels and rules for positioning in layout objects.
- Coding schemes and compression: support for CCITT Rec. T.4 and T.6, bitmap/tiled/direct-value/octet run-length/packed index encodings (as normative options).
- Layout and imaging processes: fixed and scalable dimension layout methods, content imaging steps for formatted and processable content.
- Formal representations: ASN.1 object identifiers and SGML/ODL mappings (annexes) to support machine-readable interchange.
- Defaults and data types: formal definitions for presentation and coding attribute representations and non-default feature handling.
Applications - who uses it and why
- Software vendors & developers building ODA-compliant document editors, converters, viewers, scanners and printers to ensure correct raster image interchange.
- Document management and archival systems requiring long-term preservation and interoperable image rendering.
- Enterprise integration & data-exchange scenarios where consistent presentation and/or post-exchange editing of raster content is required.
- Standards implementers and integrators mapping raster content to SGML/ODL or ASN.1 and integrating with other document formats.
Benefits include reliable cross-system rendering, standardized encoding/tiling strategies for performance and storage, and explicit attributes that support both presentation fidelity and downstream processing.
Related standards
- Other parts of the ISO/IEC 8613 (ODA) series (document structure, text, graphics, etc.)
- CCITT (ITU‑T) Recommendations T.4 and T.6 (fax/compression encodings) referenced for encoding schemes
- ASN.1 and SGML/ODL representations (annexes in the standard) for data-model and interchange mappings
Keywords: ISO/IEC 8613-7:1994, ODA, Open Document Architecture, raster graphics, raster content architecture, pel, tiling, CCITT T.4, CCITT T.6, ODL, ASN.1, document interchange, imaging, compression.