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Microsoft Access File Format
Microsoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access,
is a relational database management system from Microsoft that
combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a
graphical user interface and software development tools. It is a
member of the Microsoft Office suite of applications and is
included in the Professional and higher versions for Windows and
also sold separately. There is no version for MacOS or for
Microsoft Office Mobile.
Access stores data in its own format based on the Access Jet
Database Engine. It can also import or link directly to data
stored in other Access databases, Excel, SharePoint lists, text,
XML, Outlook, HTML, dBase, Paradox, Lotus 1-2-3, or any
ODBC-compliant data container including Microsoft SQL Server,
Oracle, MySQL and PostgreSQL. Software developers and data
architects can use it to develop application software and
non-programmer "power users" can use it to build simple
applications. It supports some object-oriented techniques but
falls short of being a fully object-oriented development tool.
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Microsoft Excel File Format
Microsoft Excel (full name Microsoft Office Excel) is a
spreadsheet-application written and distributed by Microsoft for
Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation,
graphing tools, pivot tables and a macro programming language
called VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). It has been the most
widely used spreadsheet application available for these
platforms since version 5 in 1993[citation needed]. Excel is
included as part of Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Excel up until 2007 version used a proprietary binary
file format called Binary Interchange File Format (BIFF) as its
primary format.[4] Excel 2007 uses Office Open XML as its
primary file format, an XML-based format that followed after a
previous XML-based format called "XML Spreadsheet" ("XMLSS"),
first introduced in Excel 2002.[5] The latter format is not able
to encode VBA macros.
Although supporting and encouraging the use of new XML-based
formats as replacements, Excel 2007 remained
backwards-compatible with the traditional, binary formats. In
addition, most versions of Microsoft Excel can read CSV, DBF,
SYLK, DIF, and other legacy formats. Support for some older file
formats were removed in Excel 2007 [6]. The file formats were
mainly from DOS base programs that were "seldom, if ever used."
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WinZIP File
Format
WinZip is a proprietary file
archiver and compressor for Microsoft Windows, developed by
WinZip Computing (formerly Nico Mak Computing). It natively uses
the PKZIP format but also has various levels of support for
other archive formats.
WinZip was created in the early 1990s as a shareware GUI
front-end for PKZIP. Sometime around 1996 the creators of WinZip
incorporated compression code from the Info-ZIP project, thus
eliminating the need for the PKZIP executable to be present.
From version 6.0 until version 9.0, registered users could
download the newest versions of the software, enter their
original registration information or install over the top of
their existing registered version, and thereby obtain a free
upgrade. As of version 10.0 this upgrade scheme was
discontinued. WinZip is available in standard and professional
versions. However, the ability of Windows XP and Windows Vista
to open .zip files (as "compressed folders") has reduced sales.
In May 2006, Corel Corporation, known for its WordPerfect and
CorelDRAW product lines, announced that it has completed
acquisition of WinZip Computing.
WinZip has a 45-day free evaluation period. However, in some
versions it continues to work even after this period of time.
Click
here for a free 45 Day Trial of WinZIP
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