Channel Definition Format (CDF) was a Microsoft-proposed XML format for describing frequently updated collections of web content. It organized a publisher’s material into channels and items so compatible client software could display the collection and retrieve updates on a schedule. Microsoft submitted CDF to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1997; the submission was a proposal, not evidence that CDF became a W3C Recommendation.
What did Channel Definition Format describe?
CDF was intended to act as a local index for a web publisher’s channel. A channel could group content, include nested channels, and list individual items. An item commonly represented a web page and included a URI plus descriptive information. A client could use the downloaded CDF file to show the channel hierarchy and determine what content to retrieve.
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The proposal described a subscription-like workflow: a reader selected a channel, then compatible software checked for its content on a schedule. A standard HTTP-capable web server could serve the channel data. CDF itself described the collection and its contents; it was not the web pages themselves.
How were channels and items organized?
The 1997 proposal defined XML elements and attributes using a Document Type Definition (DTD). Its vocabulary included:
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- Channel: A named collection that could contain items and subchannels.
- Item: A unit of channel information, commonly pointing to a web page through a URI and carrying descriptive metadata.
- Schedule and UserSchedule: Elements for schedule information and references to schedules set by a client or user.
- Logo: Imagery associated with a channel or item.
- Tracking: Parameters for user tracking.
- CategoryDef: Category definitions that could include child categories.
Channel metadata could include a title, abstract, author, publisher, publication date, keywords, category, rating, introductory-page URI, and minimum-storage value. These are features described in the original proposal, not statements about current web syndication formats.
When was CDF proposed, and did W3C adopt it?
W3C’s submission registry records Microsoft’s CDF submission on March 9, 1997. The specification is dated March 10, 1997, and names Castedo Ellerman of Microsoft as its author. The submission asked W3C to consider the format and suggested that it could ultimately be adopted as a Recommendation. That request documents a proposed path, not an adoption decision; the cited W3C records do not establish CDF as a W3C Recommendation.
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The specification called CDF “an open specification” for delivering frequently updated collections to compatible receiver programs. That wording is the 1997 proposal’s description, not a current W3C endorsement.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhat does “CDF file” mean in this context?
In this context, a CDF file is an XML document describing a channel: its hierarchy, items, metadata, and related scheduling information. A compatible client could read it as an index to publisher content and use it to organize and retrieve updates. The primary records establish this intended design, but do not establish how widely it was implemented, how long it remained in use, or a definitive end-of-use date.
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Sources
- Microsoft, Channel Definition Format specification (dated March 10, 1997)
- W3C, CDF submission record
- W3C, submission request and context
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