File formats

When talking about file formats you come across the terms Native and Interchange, these are supposed to distinguish between file formats that are meant to be only read by the software that created the file and files that can be used by a wide range of programs. This on the surface appears to be a reasonable definition but it is often the case that a file format has become an interchange format not out of intention but due to its prevalence. A good example is the prevalence of .doc files as being the main way of exchanging word-processing files even though this is not an interchange file. Indeed open office has created an international XML based file format which is supported by both large companies and many governments but it has yet to make any real impact as an interchange format. That being said most media files are designed to be accessed by large numbers of people so just about all file formats of this nature will be able to be read by a wide rage of software.