***************** 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) * * * ************************************************************** SEYBOLD AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE AND SGML INDUSTRY UPDATE ====================================================== "It's a fun time to be in the industry, but mostly because things work and people cooperate, not because of any single hot new item." (Seybold Special Report, April 21, 1995) Nevertheless, the Seybold editors listed their annual "Awards for Excellence" in a Special Report on the Seybold Boston Seminars which took place in March 1995. The following excerpt lists the winners involved with SGML or HTML technology: *Microsoft SGML Author for Word..."It is a powerful add-on to Microsoft Word that supports the creation of a variety of SGML documents, bringing the world of SGML greater exposure." *NaviSoft, Inc.'s NaviPress and NaviServer..."NaviPress creates collections of HTML pages for publication on the Web, offering attractive features such as templates, easy link creation, tools for on-screen forms creation, and a Web visualization window. NaviServer offers an easy-to-use platform for pages created with NaviPress." *Netscape's Navigator..."[has] built in functionality that others treat as options, combined with a viewer well suited to publishers and impressive secure-transaction capabilities." *Open Text's Latitude..."an ambitious electronic document retrieval and delivery system that features full-page fidelity viewing and on-the-fly SGML formatting. Users quickly search distributed document repositories in parallel, accessing documents regardless of format." According to the report, the growth of SGML has been impacted by the popularity of HTML and the Web, but it has mainly been dependent on the increasing need for document production "in multiple forms with multiple formats." The two most notable changes occurring in the SGML industry in 1994, say the Seybold editors, were that 1) work was done to prepare for some upcoming product releases in the category of SGML-aware editorial document managment systems and 2) it has gotten easier to author SGML in editorial workgroups. 1) SGML and Document Management for Editorial Groups: The report includes a matrix of information on more than a dozen vendors offering products in this category. The latest trend is to write these applications on top of object-oriented databases. Two products following this trend, XSoft's Astoria and Texcel's Information Manager, are reviewed in this Seybold issue. Brief updates are included for EBT's Dynabase and Xyvision's PDM as well. Screenshots are included. A simple explanation of SGML for document management systems is also given: "Most document management systems work at the file level; the smallest unit of work a user checks out for editing is a file...When the documents are encoded using SGML, however, it is possible to break [them] down into smaller, discrete chunks that can be edited independently of other parts of the document. By breaking down the document, users can apply a finer degree of control in managing different configurations and versions of document elements and documents as a whole." 2) SGML Authoring Tools "It will take time, but eventually we [will] see the word processing add-ons infringing on the turf of dedicated SGML authoring tools...For most SGML authoring vendors, the obvious new opportunity is HTML authoring for the World Wide Web...The Web has in many ways demystified SGML, and now that people want tag-based editing, these vendors are in good postion to deliver advanced products." Products reviewed in this category include Frame Technology's FrameMaker+SGML, MicroStar's Near & Far Author, and WordPerfect's SGML Edition. ***** The Editors of The Seybold Report. "Seybold Seminars Boston." *Seybold Special Report* (April 21, 1995): Volume 3, Number 8, ISSN: 1069-7217p 1-39). Subscription Information: Seybold Publications, PO Box 976, Media, PA 19063 Phone 800-325-3830 or 610-565-6864 fax 610-565-1858 ************************************************************** * SGML NEWSWIRE LIST MANAGER * * * * Kirsten Russell * * Avalanche/Interleaf * * 4999 Pearl East Circle * * Suite 100 * * Boulder, CO 80301 * * sgmlinfo@avalanche.com * * krussell@avalanche.com * * Vox: (303) 449-5032 * * Fax: (303) 449-3246 * **************************************************************