I said it wasn't universal, which is somewhat different to the vague idea of being "open", and yes, PDF is technically an "open format" depending on how you define "open". The ISO 32000 spec. costs in the region of ~200 USD/EUR.
What that "openness" translates into in the real world is that there are zero non-Adobe viewers that support all of PDF's features, and even less PDF editors. The standard PDF editor costs ~200 USD/EUR (annual subscription).
This is before we even get into the nightmarish world of PDF parsing. Or PDF accessibility.
PDF is a great format if you're sending a document to someone for them to print immediately. It has no other valid uses imo.
What that "openness" translates into in the real world is that there are zero non-Adobe viewers that support all of PDF's features, and even less PDF editors. The standard PDF editor costs ~200 USD/EUR (annual subscription).
This is before we even get into the nightmarish world of PDF parsing. Or PDF accessibility.
PDF is a great format if you're sending a document to someone for them to print immediately. It has no other valid uses imo.