On October 15, 2003, CGM Open has decided not to pursue the opportunity of developing an XML encoding for CGM files.

Following the requests from interested CGM users, CGM Open has discussed in depth the potential of an XML encoded specification for WebCGM or CGM. A use case for such an encoded file could be text indexing for searching or dynamic updating of links.

However, the group came to the conclusion that there are several issues that need to be considered:

• a CGM DOM would address some but not all of the known requirements
• adding angle brackets to the Clear Text encoding does not address all of the requirements
• it is unlikely that there would be much support in the W3C for a second XML encoded 2D graphics format
• the ISO SC24 committee would probably not be interested in this work
• this project would divert resources from WebCGM DOM development.

As a result of the discussion it was decided that the work on the WebCGM DOM has priority over an XML encoding. It appears that that an XML encoding of CGM or WebCGM would involve a substantial amount of work from both the vendors and users to develop software and specifications. Based on an analysis of use cases, there does not appear to be much return on investment.

CGM Open recognizes the need to have graphics expressible in XML for the web, but it probably makes more sense to apply resources to define the mapping from WebCGM to SVG for web delivery. If the SVG committee structures the SVG specification so that valid profiles can be written, CGM Open would be interested in contributing to a WebCGM SVG profile.