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Re: DocBook filename extension


>What is the official DocBook filename extension (assuming there is
>one)?  I've seen .docb, .dbx, and .xml.
>
>Just curious.
>
>-Brian

I use '*.xdbk'.  I don't understand why people use '*.xml', since it's not 
just XML - you can be far more specific than that.  I regard that as 
somewhat like naming files containing C code as '*.txt', since they are 
technically text files (well yeah... but OF COURSE they're text files!).  
Maybe one reason I'm so keen to distinguish XML DocBook from other types of 
XML files is that I have pattern rules, in my makefiles, for processing 
them, as well as files of other XML-based formats.

Perhaps a standardized DocBook filename extension isn't so important, since 
people don't often use it as a distribution format, though.


What I'd like to know is what people use for external parsed entity filename 
conventions.  I use '*.xdbk.ent', since they are external parsed entities 
that tend to be fairly specific to XML DocBook.

For external parameter entities, I generally use '*_xdbk.dtd', since a DTD 
fragment is theoretically usable as a stand-alone DTD (unlike external 
parsed entities, which don't have to meet criteria as stringent as 
well-formed XML files), and are more reusable from DTDs for another 
vocabulary, but tend to specific to XML DocBook, in some way.  I regard 
external parameter entities in much the same way as I view C header files - 
the extension declares the format and usage model, but not the usage 
semantics.


Anyway, I'd be glad to hear others' thoughts on the topic.


Matt Gruenke


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