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Re: [Fwd: [Fwd: First Open Source Documentation Summit at the O'ReillyOpen Source Convention]]
- To: Sebastian Rahtz <sebastian dot rahtz at computing-services dot oxford dot ac dot uk>
- Subject: Re: [Fwd: [Fwd: First Open Source Documentation Summit at the O'ReillyOpen Source Convention]]
- From: Gary Lawrence Murphy <garym at canada dot com>
- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 16:06:49 -0400
- Cc: Camille Bégnis <camille at mandrakesoft dot com>,docbook-apps <docbook-apps at lists dot oasis-open dot org>,LDP <ldp-discuss at lists dot linuxdoc dot org>,docbook-tools list <docbook-tools at bazar dot conectiva dot com dot br>
- Organization: T(c)Inc Business Innovation through Open Source Computing
- References: <Pine.OSF.4.21.0007192035430.1328-100000@ermine.ox.ac.uk>
- Reply-to: Gary Lawrence Murphy <garym at canada dot com>
>>>>> "S" == Sebastian Rahtz <sebastian.rahtz@computing-services.oxford.ac.uk> sheds some sanity on the situation and writes:
S> my POV is that I want to use TeX to format my XML documents, at
S> least until/unless FOP ever gets good enough to replace it. I
S> will use my not-inconsiderable TeX knowledge and experience to
S> that aim - but lets all play the same game. Is there any future
S> in DSSSL? If not, lets not waste time on jadetex any more. if
S> you think there *is* a future in DSSSL, someone convince me....
I don't think anyone is defending DSSSL's future; we are just
expressing that same desire you state, for a means to transform
DocBook files into printable pages, and speculating that the shortest
path is through using TeX/LaTeX as the intermediate format.
How this is done, whether by DSSSL, by replacing or hacking at
jadetex, or by some XML/XSL method is not really important, we just
need to print documents and be assured the printed format is worthy of
public presentation.
That raises the question: What is the _shortest_ path to DB->Print?
Are there _any_ free XSL tools mature enough for real-world use? What
is xmltex and is it sufficient to transform a 700-page book? Is the
answer in Xalan or Xerces or one of those other questionably
pronounceable java tools? ;) Do we really want to re-invent the
very mature typesetting features of TeX?
I am certain I am not alone in this. I'd gladly migrate my DSLs to
XSLs if I could find the documents and the tools, but even Norm's book
sidesteps how to affect these basic transformations.
As an aside, is it a requirement that a DB->Print may need to
accommodate the LaTeX stylesheets required by many academic and trade
publishers? That may be another good reason to consider real-LaTeX as
the intermediate form.
--
Gary Lawrence Murphy <garym@teledyn.com> TeleDynamics Communications Inc
Business Innovations Through Open Source Systems: http://www.teledyn.com
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."(Pablo Picasso)