Re: tlug: (La)TeX, SGML, or ... ?

[Matt Gushee <matt@example.com>]

Eric S. Standlee writes:

 > I was just thinking about this, and here is my measley little idea.  What
 > if you keep it in HTML and use communicator and/or Applix to edit it.

 > Of course you give up some flexibility with HTML, but can't you migrate to
 > SGML later if the need arrises.

This is an attractive idea, but unfortunately not really
feasible. The whole point of SGML, and the reason it is so powerful,
is that it is an information-rich document format. An SGML document
tells the processing application, e.g., 'This part is important,' or
'This is an index term,' and based on this information the document
can be automatically formatted according to local typographical
conventions, the house style, or the capabilities of the output medium.

HTML markup contains mostly low-level, literal formatting information
(it wasn't supposed to be that way, but the marketplace leaped ahead
of the standards-makers, making HTML what it is today). It is, in
fact, a very semantically impoverished SGML application. So
'converting HTML to SGML' means either converting to a semantically
rich DTD -- adding information to the document -- which can't be done
automatically with any reliability; or converting to another, equally
semantically-impoverished DTD -- which would be pointless, unless
you're just trying to learn about document conversion.

But something that might work -- conceivably, but it's Totally
Untested (TM) would be to use Applix, but design a good, SGML-friendly 
set of styles, use those styles religiously, export the docs to MS
Word format, and use one of the Word-to-SGML conversion tools. Then
later on when a good SGML editor (or XML editor, whatever, the
difference is mainly a marketing thing) finally becomes available for
Linux, you could start to use that. However, I don't know if the
Applix-to-Word filter is good enough to produce cleanly convertible
documents. And the fact that Applix styles only work at the paragraph
level could be a problem.

 > Ps.  I will be doing a wedding which will be broadcast all over Japan on
 > Asahi Television somewhere from 10:30 to 12:00 live on 1 January.  It will
 > be a Hand-made Wedding in a Hand-made log cabin church in Wakayam
 > Prefecture...

You don't mean you're getting married, do you? If so, congratulations!
But it sounds pretty cool, anyway.

And by the way, as Eric and Jonathan said, Merry Christmas ... or
Happy Hanukkah ... or Happy New Year! Take your choice.

Matt Gushee
Oshamanbe, Hokkaido
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Nomikai: 14 January 1999, 19:30 Tengu TokyoEkiMae 03-3275-3691
*** it will will be Jan 14 (Thu), as Jan 15 (Fri) is a natl holiday
Next Technical Meeting: 13 February, 12:30               Place: TBD
-------------------------------------------------------------------
more info: http://tlug.linux.or.jp                     Sponsor: PHT