*************************************************************** ****************** WELCOME TO SGML NEWSWIRE ******************* *************************************************************** * * * To subscribe, send mail to sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * * * (Please pass along to interested colleagues) * * * *************************************************************** THE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT MESS ============================ A recent _Network World_ article focuses on the "chaos" caused by the various kinds of document management products available on the market today. The article illustrates the apparent lack of interoperability needed to make many of these products compatible in a wider variety of applications. The piece addresses the need for document management systems that cover a lot of ground rather than simply the specific needs of specific users in specific organizations. For instance, four separate products may offer capabilities for text retrieval, workflow, text indexing, and document version control; but few offer *all* of these functions in one package. The sidebar "Ending the nightmare with standards" offers the use of standards as a possible solution to interoperability problems: With such diversity among available document management products, integration of these offerings across a corporate LAN is often viewed as a nightmarish project. The problem is magnified when a company attempts to extend document services to customers and suppliers. "At an enterprise level, there is a mix of different ways to deal with a document," says Bruce Silver, vice president at BIS Strategic Decisions. "Standards would help to integrate these things." Overall, the document management industry is moving toward standards to help ensure product integration, which eases the exchange of documents.... For compound, formatted documents, Standard Generalized Markup Lanaguage (SGML) is gaining acceptance.... This sidebar also includes a brief survey on "User support for document standards." Respondants were asked if their organization has committed to any of the following standards: Acrobat, AFP, CALS, JPEG, ODA, OLE, SGML, TIFF. On each percent category, SGML scored HIGHEST among the other standards listed (with one exception: it tied with OLE on percent responding YES): Here are the results: Standard % responding % responding % evaluating YES NO Acrobat 0 94 6 AFP 19 81 0 CALS 19 75 6 JPEG 25 54 21 ODA 19 50 31 OLE 32 55 13 SGML 32 30 38 TIFF 50 50 0 AFP (Advanced Function Printing) CALS (Computer-Aided Acquisition and Logistics Support) JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) ODA (Office Document Architecture) OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) Excerpts were taken from: Network World, "DON'T abandon your filing cabinets just yet...," 13 September 1993, Mark Langner. SGML-related sidebar: "Ending the nightmare with standards." ************************************************************** * SGML NEWSWIRE LIST MANAGER * * * * Linda Turner * * Corporate Communications * * Avalanche * * 947 Walnut Street * * Boulder, CO 80302 * * sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * linda@avalanche.com * * Vox: (303) 449-5032 * * Fax: (303) 449-3246 * **************************************************************