NeoOffice/J is a version of the open source OpenOffice.org office productivity suite for Mac OS X. It implements nearly all of the features of the corresponding OpenOffice version, including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, and graphics program. It is developed by NeoOffice.org, and uses Java technology to integrate OpenOffice - originally developed for Solaris and Linux - with the Aqua interface of Mac OS X.

Characteristics

NeoOffice/J is one of two functional OpenOffice-based packages for Mac OS X, both sanctioned by the leadership of OpenOffice.org. The other is the X11 version, which requires either Apple X11 or XDarwin to be installed.

NeoOffice/J is the more "Mac-like" of the two, with easier installation, better integration into the OS X interface (with pull down menus at the top of the screen, and familiar keyboard shortcuts, for example), use of Mac OS X's fonts and printing services without additional configuration, and integration with the Mac OS X clipboard and drag-and-drop functions. Although it retains a cosmetic similarity to the X11 version, it otherwise has the appearance of being a "real" Mac OS X application.

However, it requires more memory than the X11 version to perform well, some functions are marginally slower, and the additional code it adds is not as fully tested as the main OpenOffice.org code base.

Development

Unlike the "OpenOffice.org"-branded packages, which are released under SISSL, a licence which permits the creation of proprietary versions of the software (most notably StarOffice), NeoOffice/J is released only under the GPL, which ensures that any future software based on it will remain free.

A related project was NeoOffice/C, which was a simultaneous effort to develop a version of OpenOffice 1.x for Mac OS X using Apple's Cocoa APIs, as the prototype for a "native" OS X version of OpenOffice.org 2.0. But NeoOffice/C proved very difficult to implement and the application was highly unstable, so the project was set aside in favor of the more promising NeoOffice/J.

OpenOffice.org itself continues to focus development efforts for OS X on the X11 version. As of April 2005, development of NeoOffice/J 2.0 is planned to follow the final releases of OpenOffice.org 2.0 and NeoOffice/J 1.1.

External links

• NeoOffice/J