Re: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help

[Sean Wheller <seanwhe -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Mark Baker wrote:

> > The value of learning this language is limit to
the
> > confirmes of the
> > operating environment in which it is used.
>
> Yes. But why would it need to have value outside the
confines in which it
is
> used? That is precisely where you want to deliver
maximum value. Topical
> languages deliver maximum value in a carefully
targeted fashion to the
exact
> people who need them.
>
> > Then
> > when you receive content
> > back it must be transformed back to the prepend
> > language. Why not just skip
> > all that, cut to the chase.
>
> I'm not certain what you mean here. Where would the
content be coming back
> from? Why would it have changed? It would pass
through review in the
prepend
> format as much as possible, since that is where the
semantics are
captured.
> Review of the assembled format might also be
required. But why would that
> result in a change in the content? Please clarify
the scenario and I will
> try to address it.
>

You would expect all internal authors to know the
prepend language.
Providing that they are all within the same
organisation  then this should
not be a problem. However, content is often reused
outside the organisation.
Take for example an OEM who sells to a channel. That
channel may make
valuable contributions to the content. Technically
they are a seperate
organization. Would you teach them the prepend
language? This may or may not
be posible. In which case, in order to receive back
valuable contributions
you would receive content in Docbook and transform
back to the prepend
language. In addition, tools like Frame would have to
be modified to work
with the new language. As this is costly and time
consuming, it seams more
natural to give them Docbook which Frame supports.

> > People like James Clark, Norman Walsh, and Michael
Kay
> > are super experts
> > participating in shaping the industry. If people
like
> > these don't use a
> > prepend model, why should the mainstream do
> > differently.
>
> With respect, and I do respect their work, these are
people who are trying
> to make markup work. They are trying to push the
boundaries of what can be
> accomplished in the markup family. That simply isn't
the problem I am
trying
> to solve. I'm trying to make authoring work.
>
> It is interesting to note, however, that James Clark
has stated that he
does
> not write RelaxNG schemas directly in XML because
the syntax is to
complex.
> Instead he has created a simpler non-XML notation in
which he develops the
> schema, and then transforms it into RelaxNG. So
there you have a case of
at
> least one of these gentlemen using a prepend
strategy.

Can you give me the reference to where James has said
this?

It seams to me that RNG is the future direction for
Docbook. It will solve
many of the problems we have been discussing.

You have some interesting aspects.

I guess I see myself as "neither halfway up, nor
halfway down". I see great
benefit and simplicity from the adoption of standards.
I don't really want
to reinvent the wheel. I just want productive. I
realize that source-view is
not for every author, even though I work in
source-view, and therefore like
to see the emergence of new tools such as Syntext and
XXE which are
optimized for authoring in Docbook XML. I don't
discount tools like Frame,
but just feel that they are heavy. I think this middle
point is the best way
forward for the majority of authoring environments.

Sean Wheller






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