The POCOS project has released The Preservation of Complex Objects. Volume 1, Visualisations and Simulations.
Here's an excerpt:
Let us say that there is an implication that an atomic digital object is a single file, and that this is synonymous with the notion of simplicity. But is that really the case? A single PDF file is often put forward as an exemplar of such a straightforward file, but the recent PDF 2.0 version can contain embedded 3D objects, so can it really be considered as atomic and 'simple'? So it might be a somewhat daunting task to rigidly categorize digital material past, present and future as either atomic or complex? During the symposia, the POCOS strategy was not to seek to impose definitions or standards on the proceedings, but rather to see whether any consensus emerged during the talks and breakout sessions
| Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works | Digital Scholarship |