PDF, What is it FOR? - Computerphile

Postscript took off like a rocket but PDF took its time, many people wondering "What's it for?" Professor Brailsford's experience with one such person - a US immigration officer...

This video was filmed and edited by Sean Riley.

[joelproko]

This guy is a legend, it seems. The amount of early computer technology this professor was apparently involved in (or in close contact with its creators) is astonishing.

[sensibleb]

Great story, but pity the person waiting in line behind him at the airport that day.

[DeoMachina]

Professor Brailsford has the best anecdotes on this channel, hands down

[KarlMySuitcase]

I'm just happy we aren't forced to use adobes reader anymore.

[Retroity]

This guy is seriously an amazing storyteller. He held my attention the entire time.

[blabby]

Haha! Showing the user unchecking all the BS spam checkboxes when downloading an Adobe reader update.

[IznbranahlGoose]

One of the most interesting PDFs I've seen is the Wisconsin e-File form. It does a bunch of things I don't see in other PDF files. The first page has various checkboxes and things to adjust which schedules you want, the number of W2's and other tax situations - once you do that the entire form reconfigures itself to allow you to enter what you indicated. It fills in certain numbers and calculates a few things automatically, and lets you attach additional documents before clicking the button on the form that tells the PDF to itself to the state revenue. -- PDFs can do a LOT more than most people utilize it for.

[snoopdogie]

I'm so thankful for PDF. Its easy to work with, I don't worry about it having any problem displaying for anyone. If I send someone a pdf, I know what they received, and that they should be able to open it on just about anything they are using. Truly an underrated program that is used so commonly.

[jdbrinton]

"What type of business do you do?"
"Tech."
"Welcome to America."

[seahawk]

What a wonderful story.

The one person who downvoted this video works on Floor 4.

[GraeHall]

I never really appreciated just how great PDF was until I worked on a full rebrand for a premium horse feed company, digital, print, packaging, uniforms. To be able to have that universal format that worked in every step of the process with certainty was amazing.

[bobbobson]

5:53 Besides being free, not bundling it with malware also tends to help the adoption rate of software.

[iroxudont]

PDF was the first enterprise level attempt of a streamlined vulnerability distribution.

[dipi]

First time I saw a PDF displayed on-screen was at a electronic engineer's place. The data sheet was in that newfangled PD format, and it just looked beautiful: drawings, text, tables, diagrams, all smooth and crisp at the same time, because they all were rasterised with anti-aliasing. I was hooked and ordered my first CD-based archive of some monthly computer magazine right away.

[MrTerrymiff]

I always thought that PDF was a PITA because I only had experience with receiving documents that could more easily have been sent as a Word file. Just recently I received a set of model yacht plans in PDF that had to be printed at about A1 size. It opened my eyes to a whole new world. I could look at the plan on my screen. I could take the .pdf file to the local printing shop and have it printed full size. The scale bar on the print was exactly the size it was meant to be. The print looked exactly like it did on my screen.

Professor Brailsford I thank you for your explanation that has tied everything together and the penny has now dropped. For my purposes .pdf is still not the best for documents, but it is a fantastic format for drawings, plans, etc. I hope never again to expand drawings, put them on A4 and sticky tape them together. Thank you.

[Neceros]

That's easy. PDF are just media files that are designed with all content contained inside the file, with security to stop people from changing the information easily. Also as important was the ability for the PDF to look the same everywhere, to everyone.

When I first learned how to write my own PDFs it felt amazing. Then again this was back 15 - 20 years.

[aflockofseacowsesquire]

Acrobat Reader and PDF files in general felt a lot like the RealPlayer of documents for us mortal people who just wanted to look through a manual or a brochure online.

[TheStevenWhiting]

2:18 Can we have the 1hour version, only from Professor Brailsford. I'd enjoy it.

[desolatorXT]

This man is a pleasure to listen to... I'd love to have professors like him back in the day.

[sumdumbmick]

as late as mid-2003 the instructors at my college didn't know what to do with my PDF assignment submissions. I developed the habit of producing a rich text and PDF copy of each paper, because so many instructors insisted that rich text was fine. every single time they ended up using the PDF to grade my work because the rich text turned to garbage on their computer (most of which I had installed and maintained perviously when I worked for the college's IT dept... so I knew what to expect) and I knew they used the PDFs because they'd email me asking how to open them.