****************** WELCOME TO SGML NEWSWIRE ****************** * * * To subscribe, send mail to sgmlinfo@avalanche.com. * * * * To receive a current table of contents and instructions * * for ordering back issues, specify "send toc" * * in the message body. * * * * (Please pass along to interested colleagues) * * * ************************************************************** UNIVERSAL TEXT FORMAT FOR NEWS DISTRIBUTION =========================================== Those of you involved in the publishing industry should check out the following document. It focuses on a format known as UTF, which is based on SGML and is undergoing intensive review and testing for the newspaper industry and other news media. UTF - An SGML Standard for the News Distribution Industry by Dave Becker Mead Data Central daveb@meaddata.com August 15, 1994 Excerpts: ********* "Modern transmission of information dates to the development of the telegraph and teletype. Inherent in past development was the concept that the information would appear on a printed page, either in the traditional newspaper or on paper for a news reader at a radio or television studio. Until now, the concerns of most information delivery were about how the information would appear on paper, even if the printing device was only a teleprinter. This document discusses the development of a device-independent file format for the transfer of textual information in the news industry. This file format is called the Universal Text Format (UTF). It is intended to be used with the Information Interchange Model (IIM), an electronic envelope convention for the exchange of information which has been adopted by the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) and the Newspaper Association of America (NAA). The UTF is being developed under the direction of the IPTC and the NAA... From the very beginning there was strong interest in SGML as the language to use for the creation of the UTF. It clearly supports attainment of the objectives of device independence, non-proprietariness and deep and robust encoding as described above. There are numerous other successful standards development efforts that are based on SGML. A superficial look was taken at the Open Document Architecture (ODA), but there was little commercial software available to support ODA, and the architecture of the standard would potentially conflict with that of the IIM." ************************************************************** * SGML NEWSWIRE LIST MANAGER * * * * Linda Turner * * Corporate Communications * * Avalanche * * 4999 Pearl East Circle * * Suite 100 * * Boulder, CO 80301 * * sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * linda@avalanche.com * * Vox: (303) 449-5032 * * Fax: (303) 449-3246 * **************************************************************