*************************************************************** ****************** WELCOME TO SGML NEWSWIRE ******************* *************************************************************** * * * To subscribe, send mail to sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * * * (Please pass along to interested colleagues) * * * *************************************************************** CALS JOURNAL; PC MAGAZINE; CLIENT-SERVER COMPUTING ================================================== Coverage of SGML in the press is on a roll again after a relatively sleepy winter. Here's a sampler: The Spring 1994 issue of *CALS Journal* features two articles on SGML. The first is "SGML and MIL-STD-1840B; An explanation of how a CALS SGML document is placed into a MIL-STD-1840B transfer unit," by David Peterson. The second appearance of SGML occurs in a discussion of SGML and its support (or lack thereof) for formatting capabilities. The short cluster of articles is titled "The CALS Output Specification -- Will it Solve Your Formatting Interchange Needs?; A discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of using the OS/FOSI while a more comprehensive solution -- DSSSL -- is being developed." It includes an introduction by Frank Gilbane and two articles: "Streamlining the Publishing Process," by Faye Merredith of Arbortext, and "Why FOSIs Are Inappropriate for Broad Implementation," by Jeanne Artime, Harvey Bingham and Moira Meehan of Interleaf. They present different views of the issues involved in the development of formatting systems, including DSSSL, (Document Style, Semantic, and Specification Language), OS (Output Specification) and FOSIs (Formatting Output Specification Instances). >From the introduction: "....While the use of SGML started out as perhaps the most controversial CALS decision regarding standards, I think it is safe to say that it is now by far the most widely accepted... The chief reason the use of SGML was disputed, and why the early development of MIL-M-28001 involved so many heated battles, was due to the issue of how to handle formatting and presentation information... What do you do when you want to preserve the formatting information during interchange?... We can attack this problem... with a standard way to interchange formatting information between proprietary formatting systems -- this is precisely what DSSSL, an ISO standard under development, is being designed to do...." Contact CALS Journal at: 14407 Big Basin Way Saratoga, CA 95070-6008 Ph: 408-867-8600 Fx: 408-867-9800 The 12 April 1994 issue of *PC Magazine* features a short article in the "Trends" section called "SGML Made Easy," by Lori Grunin. The article hails the reusability and interoperability of documents provided by SGML, and briefly describes the coming trend of SGML "add-ons" from a variety of software vendors. "Most product trends appear like a tidal wave that you spot miles off. The influence of SGML, though, likens more to a gradually strengthening undercurrent..." The January 1994 issue of *Client-Server Computing* includes a piece called "Publishing Tools Easing Chore of Documentation Development," by David Baum. It focuses on the growing use of electronic repositories and distribution of documentary information. A sidebar titled "Document Technology: It's Alive!" lists several technologies that are contributing to the use of the document as "a view into live information rather than as a static entity..." Included alongside SGML are: APIs, database technology, Structured Query Language, graphical tools, and content object servers. ************************************************************** * 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 * **************************************************************