Siag Office
Encyclopedia
Siag Office is a tightly integrated, free software
office package for Unix-like
operating systems. It consists of the spreadsheet
SIAG ("Scheme In A Grid"), the word processor
Pathetic Writer (PW), the animation program Egon Animator, the text editor
XedPlus, the file manager
Xfiler and the previewer Gvu. It is known to be extremely light-weight and hence to run on very old (such as i486, 16MB systems) systems reasonably well. Because it is kept light-weight, the software lacks many of the features of office suites like LibreOffice
, OpenOffice.org
or Microsoft Office
. Siag Office is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
.
The version 3.6.0 was released in 2003 and the latest version 3.6.1 was released in 2006.
It is included in the Linux distribution Damn Small Linux
.
based on the X Window System
and the Scheme programming language (specifically using home-grown variant SIOD
("Scheme in One Defun")). The program has existed in several incarnations: text-based curses
for SunOS
, text-based hardcoded VT52
for Atari TOS
, GEM
-based for Atari, Turbo C
for DOS
, Xlib
-based for Linux and now Xt
-based for POSIX
-compliant systems.
It supports import of CSV
, Lotus 1-2-3
(.wk1), Scheme Code (.scm), ABScript (.abs), Siag (.siag) native format and partially also XLS files (very limited support) and OpenOffice.org XML
(.sxc). It can export files to CSV, TXT, Postscript (.ps), HTML, Lotus 1-2-3 (.wk1), Troff table (.tbl), Latex table (.tex), PDF and its native Siag format.
-based word processor
for Unix. Support for RTF (Rich Text Format
) allows documents to be exchanged between Pathetic Writer and legacy Windows applications. External converters such as Caolan McNamara's WV can be used to read virtually any format, including Microsoft Word. HTML pages can be loaded and saved, making it possible to instantly publish PW documents on the web.
-based animation development tool for Unix. The idea is that "objects" (rectangles, lines, pixmaps and so on) are added to a "stage" where they are then made to perform by telling them where they should be and when. It can also edit MagicPoint
files.
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
office package for Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating systems. It consists of the spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
SIAG ("Scheme In A Grid"), the word processor
Word processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
Pathetic Writer (PW), the animation program Egon Animator, the text editor
Text editor
A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code....
XedPlus, the file manager
File manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...
Xfiler and the previewer Gvu. It is known to be extremely light-weight and hence to run on very old (such as i486, 16MB systems) systems reasonably well. Because it is kept light-weight, the software lacks many of the features of office suites like LibreOffice
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...
, OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
or Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
. Siag Office is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
The version 3.6.0 was released in 2003 and the latest version 3.6.1 was released in 2006.
It is included in the Linux distribution Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux or DSL is a computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open source software under the terms of GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical applications on older PC hardware—for example, machines with...
.
Siag
Siag is the spreadsheetSpreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
based on the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
and the Scheme programming language (specifically using home-grown variant SIOD
SIOD
Scheme In One Defun is a small-footprint implementation of the Scheme programming language, written in C and designed to be embedded inside C programs. It was originally written by Professor George J...
("Scheme in One Defun")). The program has existed in several incarnations: text-based curses
Curses (programming library)
curses is a terminal control library for Unix-like systems, enabling the construction of text user interface applications.The name is a pun on the term “cursor optimization”. It is a library of functions that manage an application's display on character-cell terminals .- Overview :The curses API...
for SunOS
SunOS
SunOS is a version of the Unix operating system developed by Sun Microsystems for their workstation and server computer systems. The SunOS name is usually only used to refer to versions 1.0 to 4.1.4 of SunOS...
, text-based hardcoded VT52
VT52
The VT52 was a CRT-based computer terminal produced by Digital Equipment Corporation introduced in September, 1975 . It provided a screen of 24 rows and 80 columns of text and supported all 95 ASCII characters as well as 32 graphics characters. It supported asynchronous communication at baud rates...
for Atari TOS
Atari TOS
TOS is the operating system of the Atari ST range of computers. This range includes the 520 and 1040ST, their STF/M/FM and STE variants and the Mega ST/STE. Later, 32-bit machines were developed using a new version of TOS, called MultiTOS, which allowed multitasking...
, GEM
Graphical Environment Manager
GEM was a windowing system created by Digital Research, Inc. for use with the CP/M operating system on the Intel 8088 and Motorola 68000 microprocessors...
-based for Atari, Turbo C
Turbo C
Turbo C is an Integrated Development Environment and compiler for the C programming language from Borland. First introduced in 1987, it was noted for its integrated development environment, small size, extremely fast compile speed, comprehensive manuals and low price.In May 1990, Borland replaced...
for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, Xlib
Xlib
Xlib is an X Window System protocol client library written in the C programming language. It contains functions for interacting with an X server. These functions allow programmers to write programs without knowing the details of the protocol...
-based for Linux and now Xt
Intrinsics
X Toolkit Intrinsics is a library used in the X Window System. More precisely, it is a library that uses the low-level Xlib library and provides a friendly API to develop X11 software with graphical widgets...
-based for POSIX
POSIX
POSIX , an acronym for "Portable Operating System Interface", is a family of standards specified by the IEEE for maintaining compatibility between operating systems...
-compliant systems.
It supports import of CSV
Comma-separated values
A comma-separated values file stores tabular data in plain-text form. As a result, such a file is easily human-readable ....
, Lotus 1-2-3
Lotus 1-2-3
Lotus 1-2-3 is a spreadsheet program from Lotus Software . It was the IBM PC's first "killer application"; its huge popularity in the mid-1980s contributed significantly to the success of the IBM PC in the corporate environment.-Beginnings:...
(.wk1), Scheme Code (.scm), ABScript (.abs), Siag (.siag) native format and partially also XLS files (very limited support) and OpenOffice.org XML
OpenOffice.org XML
OpenOffice.org XML is an open XML-based file format developed as an open community effort by Sun Microsystems and other OpenOffice.org project contributors in 2000-2002. The open-source software application suite OpenOffice.org 1.x and StarOffice 6 used the format as their native and default file...
(.sxc). It can export files to CSV, TXT, Postscript (.ps), HTML, Lotus 1-2-3 (.wk1), Troff table (.tbl), Latex table (.tex), PDF and its native Siag format.
PW
PW (Pathetic Writer) is an XX Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
-based word processor
Word processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
for Unix. Support for RTF (Rich Text Format
Rich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
) allows documents to be exchanged between Pathetic Writer and legacy Windows applications. External converters such as Caolan McNamara's WV can be used to read virtually any format, including Microsoft Word. HTML pages can be loaded and saved, making it possible to instantly publish PW documents on the web.
Egon Animator
Egon Animator is the XX Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
-based animation development tool for Unix. The idea is that "objects" (rectangles, lines, pixmaps and so on) are added to a "stage" where they are then made to perform by telling them where they should be and when. It can also edit MagicPoint
MagicPoint
MagicPoint is one of several open source presentation programs, often used to produce slides for conferences. Unlike most presentation programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, where a GUI is used to create slides, MagicPoint slides are created by writing text files using a simple markup language...
files.
See also
- Comparison of office suites
Review
- Siag Office is far from pathetic, Linux.comLinux.comLinux.com is the name of a website owned by the Linux Foundation. The site is currently a central source for Linux information, software, documentation and answers across the server, desktop/netbook, mobile, and embedded areas. Linux.com offers free Linux tutorials, news and blogs, discussion...
, 2007