*************************************************************** ****************** WELCOME TO SGML NEWSWIRE ******************* *************************************************************** * * * To subscribe, send mail to sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * * * (Please pass along to interested colleagues) * * * *************************************************************** ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS: CONVERSION & EXCHANGE =========================================== The following excerpts come from a recent issue of Electronic Documents, published in the UK. [Note the British spelling; I've left it all as is.] "Is a memo like this realistic? ------------------------------------------------------------ | | | To: All our readers | | | | From: The Editor | |

| | | | I am drafting this memorandum in the format of | | Standard Generalised Markup Language (SGML).

| | | |

But I wonder if anyone would ever bother to do this | | in real life.

| | | | Hoping that you enjoy this issue. | | Peter Hyams.
| | | ------------------------------------------------------------ SGML is the most rigorous approach to ensuring that electronic documents can be re-used on any platform under all circumstances. What work is involved and who is bothering? Another question: to what extent does SGML compete with systems for sharing pages that *look* similar, such as Adobe Acrobat and Interleaf WorldView?...." These are the kinds of questions this issue addresses. If you're considering ordering a back issue, the listing of topics below may be helpful. (You may notice, however, that the way they've organized this particular article is strange and illogical, even funky; perhaps they need SGML?) Descriptions and comparisons of SGML tools include those from such companies as Avalanche, EBT, Farallon, Frame Interleaf, No Hands, SoftQuad, and WordPerfect. Also included in the article are a sample DTD and case studies on data conversion. TOPICS INCLUDE: 1. Data Conversion Bureaux - Innodata - ROM Data - Double keying - SGML uptake ("SGML Uptake" at a glance) "Both Innodata and ROM Data [data conversion bureaux mentioned earlier in article] have noticed a growing demand for information to be encoded with [SGML]. 'All major corporations, in all sectors of industry, are looking to adopt SGML... After all, once you have encoded your data in this way it is on an ISO standard platform. From there it is a simple process to migrate your database to other media....' ROM Data is increasingly being asked to encode. 'At one time we had hardly any requests for SGML... Now some 20-30 percent of our work involves encoding, either with SGML or some dialect of it.'" 2. Sharing formatted documents: Acrobat, etc. 3. Adobe Acrobat in practice - Viewing and annotating - Directly printing - Prices and availability - Helmsmann - WorldView - Adobe, Interleaf and SGML 4. SGML: a usage overview - Creating a Document Type Definition - Directly authoring in SGML - An SGML wordprocessor - Converting in retrospect - Validating and correcting - What makes SGML worthwhile? - SGML User Groups 5. WordPerfect Intellitag - WordPerfect lookalike - Boost to SGML - How simple is Intellitag? - The limits for novices 6. SGML, retrieval and publishing - The Dynatext Approach 7. Conclusions and Futures - Markets for SGML? - Inhibitors to growth - Routes to market growth - Beyond SGML - The best of both worlds? Electronic Documents, "Conversion and Exchange," Vol. 2, No. 10, October 1993, Peter Hyams. Contact info: Learned Information Ltd. Woodside, Hinksey Hill Oxford OX1 5AU, UK [44] 865-730-275 [44] 865-736-354 (fax) ************************************************************** * 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 * **************************************************************