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Computable Document Format
File format

Computable Document Format (CDF) is an electronic document format designed to allow authoring dynamically generated, interactive content. CDF was created by Wolfram Research, and CDF files can be created using Mathematica. As of 2021, the Wolfram Research website lists CDF as a "legacy" format; it has been replaced by Wolfram Computational Notebooks.

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Features

Computable Document Format supports GUI elements such as sliders, menus, and buttons. Content is updated using embedded computation in response to GUI interaction. Contents can include formatted text, tables, images, sounds, and animations. CDF supports Mathematica typesetting and technical notation.5 Paginated layout, structured drill down layout, and slideshow mode are supported. Styles can be controlled using a cascading style sheet.

Reading

CDF files can be read using a proprietary CDF Player, downloadable from the Wolfram Research website but with a restricted license.6789101112131415 In contrast to static formats such as PDF, the CDF Player contains an entire runtime library of Mathematica allowing document content to be generated in response to user interaction16 and digital textbooks.17

CDF reader support is available for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Linux and iOS18 but not for e-book readers or Android tablets. The reader supports a plugin mode for Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari, which allows CDF content to be embedded inline in HTML pages.

Uses

Computable Document Format has been used in electronic books by Pearson Education,1920 specifically MyMathLab, to provide the content for the Wolfram Demonstrations Project, and to add client-side interactivity to Wolfram Alpha.2122

See also

References

  1. Wolfram Alpha Creator plans to delete the PDF The Telegraph (UK) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8561619/Wolfram-Alpha-creator-plans-to-delete-the-PDF.html ↩

  2. Wolfram makes data interactive PC World https://www.pcworld.com/article/236202/wolfram_makes_data_interactive.html ↩

  3. Wolfram punts expanded medium for technical docs Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine ThinQ http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/7/21/wolfram-punts-expanded-medium-technical-docs/ ↩

  4. "Computable Document Format". Wolfram Research. Retrieved 2021-03-23. https://www.wolfram.com/cdf/ ↩

  5. Wolfram Launches new document format. Meet CDF ZDNet https://www.zdnet.com/article/wolfram-launches-new-document-format-meet-cdf/ ↩

  6. Dillow, Clay. "Wolfram's New 'CDF' Format Brings Computation Power to the Individual Document". Popular Science. Retrieved 21 July 2011. http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2011-07/wolframs-new-cdf-format-brings-computation-power-individual-document ↩

  7. "Wolfram introduces the new .CDF container for interactive math documents". 21 July 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011. http://www.betanews.com/article/Wolfram-introduces-the-new-CDF-container-for-interactive-math-documents/1311270145 ↩

  8. Wolfram Launches new document format. Meet CDF ZDNet https://www.zdnet.com/article/wolfram-launches-new-document-format-meet-cdf/ ↩

  9. Wolfram creates CDF format to rival flash and PDF V3, July 2011 http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2095753/wolfram-creates-cdf-format-rival-flash-pdf ↩

  10. Should we add another format to the PDF Killer List? Invest in Tech https://www.investintech.com/resources/blog/archives/1874-should-we-add-another-format-to-the-pdf-killer-list.html ↩

  11. Weg mit dem öden Papier-Internet! Der Spiegel (German) http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/0,1518,775549,00.html ↩

  12. Wolfram's new CDF format brings computation power to individual documents Popular Science, July 2011 http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2011-07/wolframs-new-cdf-format-brings-computation-power-individual-document ↩

  13. Wolfram launches PDF Killer School Library Journal http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/891371-312/wolfram_launches_pdf_killer.html.csp ↩

  14. WolframAlpha adds powerful unteractive search results The Next Web, 12 August 2011 https://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/08/12/wolfram-alpha-adds-powerful-interactive-search-results/ ↩

  15. Wolfram Launches its own interactive document format Archived 2011-12-31 at the Wayback Machine PC Pro, July 2011 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/enterprise/368815/wolfram-launches-its-own-interactive-document-format ↩

  16. Wolfram punts expanded medium for technical docs Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine ThinQ http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/7/21/wolfram-punts-expanded-medium-technical-docs/ ↩

  17. Wolfram's new CDF format brings computation power to individual documents Popular Science, July 2011 http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2011-07/wolframs-new-cdf-format-brings-computation-power-individual-document ↩

  18. "Notebooks in Your Pocket—Wolfram Player for iOS is Now Shipping—Wolfram Blog". 4 October 2017. http://blog.wolfram.com/2017/10/04/notebooks-in-your-pocket-wolfram-player-for-ios-is-now-shipping/ ↩

  19. Wolfram launches PDF Killer Archived 2012-04-28 at the Wayback Machine School Library Journal http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/891371-312/wolfram_launches_pdf_killer.html.csp ↩

  20. Briggs Cochrane Calculus https://archive.today/20120912142822/http://www.pearsonhighered.com/briggscochran1einfo/ ↩

  21. WolframAlpha adds powerful interactive search results The Next Web, 12 August 2011 https://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/08/12/wolfram-alpha-adds-powerful-interactive-search-results/ ↩

  22. Wolfram Launches its own interactive document format Archived 2011-12-31 at the Wayback Machine PC Pro, July 2011 http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/enterprise/368815/wolfram-launches-its-own-interactive-document-format ↩