Computable Document Format (CDF) is an electronic document format[1] designed to allow authoring dynamically generated, interactive content.[2] CDF was created by Wolfram Research, and CDF files can be created using Mathematica.[3] As of 2021, the Wolfram Research website lists CDF as a "legacy" format.[4]
Features
Computable Document Format supports GUI elements such as sliders, menus, and buttons. Content is updated using embedded computation in response to GUI interaction. Contents can include formatted text, tables, images, sounds, and animations. CDF supports Mathematica typesetting and technical notation.[5] Paginated layout, structured drill down layout, and slideshow mode are supported. Styles can be controlled using a cascading style sheet.
Reading
CDF files can be read using a proprietary CDF Player, downloadable from the Wolfram Research website but with a restricted license.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In contrast to static formats such as PDF, the CDF Player contains an entire runtime library of Mathematica allowing document content to be generated in response to user interaction[3] and digital textbooks.[16]