File over app

File over app is the idea that a digital file’s format should be application agnostic.^{1 2}

File over app goes beyond commonality of file format. PDF is a ubiquitous file format (with multiple standards) for storing formatted text laid on a page, but it is not human readable even if it can be written and understood by many applications. You still need the application. That is why we Always bet on text as a truly lowest level format.

Footnotes

1. I first heard of this phrasing by Steph Ango. ↩

2. Conveniently ignoring the need for an operating system “app”. ↩