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This isn't about security, it's about making sure that a text document is formatted exactly the same on all devices, whether it's a PC, a phone or a printer. T
by alpaca128 7y ago
This isn't about security, it's about making sure that a text document is formatted exactly the same on all devices, whether it's a PC, a phone or a printer.
The PDF file is reliable in that aspect while other widely used document formats like .doc and .docx are basically a gamble, even if you open the document on the same machine with the same software. The same with presentations: You just need to open the file in a slightly different software or version or encounter one of the countless bugs and suddenly you have a picture overlapping with text.
- blunte 7y agoBy your argument, PDF fails. I can provide examples of PDFs that look different on different devices.
- kccqzy 7y agoPDF gives you all the tools to make sure that doesn't happen. No one prevents you from shooting yourself in the foot by writing a bad PDF that doesn't adhere to common good practices. For example it is technically possible to make a PDF with text without embedding fonts. Doing that is a bad idea. By your argument, any programming language, no much how safe it purports to be, fails because they allow you to write bugs.
- blunte 7y agoThis was about the claim that PDFs provide consistent/identical document representation on every device. Few programming languages claim to provide bug free programs, so your example is irrelevant.
- MaxBarraclough 7y ago> This isn't about security kccqzy's comment was clearly referring to security.