The article is an extended report on the 1992 AIA [Aerospace Industries Association] Symposium. It reports on the strong trend toward electronic manuals, including the key role of SGML in the structuring of online documentation. The growing popularity of IETMs (interactive electronic technical manual) is explained. SGML products/vendors discussed include: ATA-100 DTD support; SoftQuad; ArborText; Electronic Book Technologies; Westinghouse (Pathways); CALS SGML in the aerospace industry.
Although tables occur frequently in, and are an integral part of, many documents, current computer systems do not adequately support the table author. This report examines the essential characteristics of tables, and proposes a model system that captures fundamental cognitive activities involved in authoring tables. Existing table edit[i]ng systems are compared to the author's model, and a prototype system containing unique functionality is presented.
The author supplies a summary of the OCLC/NCSA Metadata Workshop held in March, 1995. The Dublin Core includes an SGML DTD as part of its description. See the full report from the Metadata workshop for further details.
Available online via UH WWW server, or here in mirror copy (text only, partial links)].
Abstract: "Much more than a better approach for formatting Web documents, XML has great potential for integrating XML documents with object oriented (OO) application programs. My theme is to suggest potential synergies between Web and object technologies, and to analyze how they might be applied to a problem like collaboration. I discuss some interesting new undercurrents in Web-based metadata. The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a data interchange language for heterogeneous systems that is especially tuned for fast, online systems. XML is much more than a better approach for formatting Web documents: it is a representation language for describing the content and semantics of Web-based resources. I see great potential for integrating XML documents with OO application programs. First, the structure of XML documents can be very easily parsed into objects that can be programmatically manipulated. Second, XML document objects can be commingled with other application objects to create hybrid Web-object systems. As a way to introduce these possibilities, I discuss three topics: extensibility, reflection, and semantic models."
"XML has many benefits for folks who want to improve structure, maintainability, searchability, presentation, and other aspects of document management."
See the SIGS web site for information on the journal.
"Abstract: During the spring of 1986 the proceedings of the fifth British National Conference on Databases [BNCOD-5] was prepared using electronic methods. Thirteen academic papers were received in computer readable form and, in due course, were tagged in GML starter set and assembled into the text for a complete book. GML is the IBM mark-up language on which SGML has been based. The preparation of this volume highlighted four major issues which the users of mark up languages will need to address if mark up languages are to be widely accepted for the transfer of papers between authors, editors and publishers. These are the practical technical problems of transferring computer readable documents, the possibility of direct translation of one mark up language to another, the difficulty of defining a starter set acceptable to a wide class of users, and the handling of figures, tables and mathematics within a mark up language. The present paper addresses two of these problems (using starter set GML and handling tables and mathematics) in relation to the actual documents supplied for the BNCOD-5 proceedings and proposes the formulation of a discipline around which the practical use of mark up languages will need to develop."
"Abstract: Microcosm is an open hypermedia system. A fundamental feature of Microcosm is that all link information is held in external linkbases which contain the required details about the source and destination anchors of the links. This feature enables third party applications to act as document viewers since it is not necessary to adapt the application to manipulate data structures that include link anchor information. Another feature of Microcosm is that it is composed of independent components which communicate by passing messages. The author began investigating the possibilities of using Microcosm as a hypertext development environment and then mapping the completed hypertext onto other delivery systems. As an intermediate stage in mapping between Microcosm and other delivery systems the authors are producing some HyTime-based document structures which describe Microcosm hypertexts especially. linkbases. They are defining a process that will convert a Microcosm dataset into this representation, and then further translation programs to convert (possibly a subset of) this HyTime representation to run on other hypermedia delivery systems."
The Hypermedia/Time based Structuring Language (HyTime) is a recently adopted international standard (ISO/IEC Standard 10744, 1992). This paper presents the need and potential for HyTime, provides a brief explanation of its various facilities, and shows how it may be applied to good effect in various situations, with particular reference to hypertext interchange in Microcosm (an open hypertext system). It then goes on to explore several alternatives to HyTime and compares their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Summary: "This document discusses multilingual aspects of the Web. Extensions should be as compatible as possible with the present Web and they should be comprehensive; in particular, they should cover Language Engineering. The two main areas are: 1) Character set; 2) Multilingual Aligned Hypertext."
Available online: http://www.echo.lu/other/poster.html, [or mirror copy, September 1995].
"Abstract: Presents a general overview of the publishing process, including both paper and electronic publishing. The main actors (e.g. authors, publishers and libraries) and the associated publication channels are discussed. One channel is discussed in more detail: this channel incorporates all the steps involved from the acquisition of a manuscript in a generic mark-up language to the presentation of the final electronic publication to the user in the library. The use of a generic mark-up language (e.g. SGML) is viewed as being an essential component for facilitating the exchange of electronic documents between different systems and applications. In addition, the use of a generic mark-up language allows several steps of the publishing process to be automated, from the production of electronic books, to the addition of the resulting books to a (electronic) library. A system is proposed which provides the acquisition and authoring tools required to generate electronic books, together with an appropriate interface and readers' services. The system incorporates two notable features: a model of an electronic book ('hyper-book'), based on the book metaphor and designed within the context of an electronic library, and an environment which supports the semi-automatic generation of electronic books ('hyper-book builder') starting from a manuscript which is already available in SGML format."
Abstract: "The editorial process of the budget of the European Union provides a good example of a production environment that is entirely SGML-based, and meets severe constraints in terms of production time, quality, and costs."
"As such, it illustrates the fact that SGML realizes its full potential when used as a means of manipulating structured documents. It also highlights certain aspects of SGML, usually considered as advanced, making their significance apparent through a concrete example of their use."
"[Conclusion:] We have described a complex SGML-based client-server system that is used for the creation and maintenance of the European Union's budget, a huge 11-language document, revised three times a year. We have shown that an SGML system can be much more than just having SGML instances as input and output. We have described and illustrated how SGML is used in every aspect of the system, ranging from the server modules, over SGML based processing modules to an SGML-formatted messaging scheme between clients and server. Finally, we have outlined how at the very heart of the system presented here is SIT, the SGML Technologies Group's fully-featured SGML parser and integrated application language."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Case Studies" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
A version of the document is available online in HTML format: "The European Union's Budget. SGML Used to its Full Potential"; [local archive copy]. Note: The SGML Technologies Group has published a number of other interesting papers online: see http://www.sgmltech.com/papers/index.htm.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: Standards are assuming a significant role in the fields of publishing and office automation, with the introduction of some significant techniques for describing documents in electronic form. The author discusses the standards making process. Significant standards include ISO 8879 standard generalized markup language (SGML) and ISO DIS/8613 office document architecture (ODA) and interchange format. He also mentions ISO DIS/9059 SGML document interchange format (SDIF) and other standards related to SGML. He discusses the origins of SGML and then looks at some of its features, describing it as a document markup metalanguage. He discusses implementation of SGML in existing systems and future systems and its limitations.
The article gives a detailed report on the November 1988 meeting in Boston, sponsored by the GCA: "Markup USA: SGML for the Desktop."
"This hardback is aimed at the publisher or editor who feel they need to have a better appreciation of what SGML is and how it can be incorporated into their organization. It avoids the use of jargon and acronyms and gives the reasons for needing to code documents for both conventional and electronic publishing. It gives a good grounding in what SGML is, where it comes from and how it can be used."
Contents include: Coding schemes; What is SGML?; The document type definition; Other forms of SGML; Using SGML; Illustrations and multimedia; From SGML to EP; Alternatives to SGML; Conclusions and a look to the future." [from the publisher's blurb; see URL below]
See: http://cobham.pira.co.uk/catalog/publishing/PUB4.HTM; [mirror copy].
For further details on the SGML technologies reviewed in this document, see the main entry for the RIDDLE Project.
"Abstract: This presentation outlines various approaches to SGML "up-translation", i.e., transformation of text data from arbitrary encoding formats to valid SGML instances. Visual recognition techniques, pattern matching techniques and two-step approaches with early conversion to low-level SGML structures, are analyzed with respect to various data sources: text processor files, OCR data and phototypesetting files. This presentation also explains why "up-translation" is by no way symmetrical to "down-translation" i.e., transformation of SGML data to arbitrary formats, and why different tools and programming paradigms are required for each problem."
The document is available online in HTML format: "Current approaches to SGML up-translation" [mirror copy, December 1995]. For further details on the Conference and BeLux, see the contact information for SGML BeLux. The article concludes with a brief biographical statement for François Chahuneau
Abstract: "This paper studies, from an historical perspective, the relationship between SGML and data modeling concerns. SGML did not the invent the concept of structural document models, or 'schemata'. Nevertheless, through the notion of DTDs, it made this powerful concept available and understandable to a large number of people with little or no data modeling experience.
"With the evolutionary trend towards 'content oriented' DTDs, the emergence of well-described methodologies to design them and the appearance of specialized 'case' tools to manipulate them, the potential of SGML as a data modeling methodology became clear, and some SGML enthusiasts suggested to use it as a general purpose tool.
"However, because an SGML DTD intimately mixes the notion of a 'grammar' and that of a 'schema', these two concepts remained partly confused, at least in the 'orthodox' SGML approach. This original characteristic caused some misunderstandings and raised many suspicions from the 'traditional' data modeling world. This largely precluded, so far, the use of SGML as a general data modeling tool outside the restricted arena of structured documents.
"By introducing a simplified syntax with a fixed grammar, XML isolated the role of DTDs as 'pure schemata', and also made them unnecessary for pure recognition of the 'de facto' document structure.
Finally, recent proposals such as MCF and XML-data suggest to use the XML syntax itself to encode document schemata, therefore making 'traditional' DTDs obsolete. At the same time, they propose several extensions to the SGML data modeling semantics, by incorporating object-oriented concepts. Will such an evolution allow XML to become the official, well-accepted and ubiquitous way to exchange structured data and associated models, and bring SGML power much beyond its original application niche?"
[Extract from the section "The Dual Nature of DTDs"]: "With the benefit of hindsight, after ten years of practice, the design of SGML appears as an unlikely and unique mixture of many brilliant ideas and a few mistakes, and strikes [one] by its total lack of references to data modeling or language design theories which had already emerged in computer science at the time it was designed. A major point of originality is the central SGML DTD concept itself: a DTD is both a generative grammar for the markup language which will be used to tag corresponding instances, and a schema which characterizes a document class: it assigns names to things and defines rules stating what structural patterns shall or shall not be not possible/required in an SGML document (modeled as a tree of typed nodes with attributes) which belongs to the class. In the same set of statements, one is instructed that 'the end tag for AUTHOR can be omitted' and that 'the document must have a title and a single one', although these two pieces of information admittedly belong to totally different areas of concern. This dual nature of DTD should not necessarily lead to confusing the two notions. Unfortunately, this is largely what happened in the SGML community..."
See also by François Chahuneau the posting "Beyond the SGML DTD," submitted to the W3C WG discussion forum.
This paper was delivered as part of the "Expert" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
A major feature article on Unicode and its relation to internationalization issues. The article's author is François Chahuneau, general manager of AIS/Berger-Levrault, who brings a wealth of experience to the topic of multilingual software development. AIS was one of the first developers to announce XML support in a major product (Balise). As expected, the article includes a section "SGML and XML Specific Issues," but the entire article is relevant to developers who are planning to support XML.
Abstract: "Generation of SGML-coded documents as a result of database query processes is a commonly used practice. In most cases, however, the contents of such documents are entirely built from scratch as an SGML-formatted image of the query results. We present an extension to this practice, in cases when documents are made of a combination of human-generated parts and database originated parts. When such documents are updated, human-generated parts should remain untouched, while database originated parts (text, tables and graphics) should be regenerated or updated.
"The method used here is that of SGML templates, which embed links targeted to a database. Such a technique can be used in many application fields, ranging from Web applications to industrial catalog publishing, where complex, human-generated document structures coexist with database extracts."
A related version of this document is available online in HTML format: see http://www.balise.com/current/articles/chahun.htm. See also the SGML 96 presentation, [mirror copy, text only].
Note: The electronic conference proceedings in hypertext were produced by Inso Corporation (DynaText) and by High Text (EnLIGHTeN). Information about the SGML Europe '97 Conference may be found in the main database entry.
Abstract: "Generation of SGML-coded documents as a result of database query processes is a commonly used practice. In most cases, however, the contents of such documents are entirely built from scratch as an SGML-formatted image of the query results. We present an extension to this practice, in cases when documents are made of a combination of human-generated parts and database originated parts. When such documents are updated, human-generated parts should remain untouched, while database originated parts (text, tables and graphics) should be regenerated or updated.
"The method used here is that of SGML templates, which embed links targeted to a database. Such a technique can be used in many application fields, ranging from Web applications to industrial catalog publishing, where complex, human-generated document structures coexist with database extracts."
The document is available online in HTML format: http://www.balise.com/current/articles/chahun.htm; [mirror copy].
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML Expert" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Today's workstations make it possible for users to create and interact with many types of objects. It is desirable that a document creation tool allow all these types of objects to be mixed and nested without restriction in documents, that each type of object be treated uniformally wherever it is found, and that the tool be extensible to new types of objects. The Quill document creation system addresses these requirements by providing an extensible family of specialized editors, coordinated by a Shell that provides common services and presents a consistent user interface. The Shell manages a database that records the properties of various objects in the document, allows objects to inherit properties from other objects, and allows users to override properties when desired. Quill generalizes the concept of properties to include user-supplied procedures that specify the active behavior of an object during WYSIWYG editing.
Abstract: A description is given of Quill: an extensible document creation system that is organized as a collection of cooperating editors, each with its own set of objects and commands. The objects implemented by the various editors can be nested without restriction, forming a hierarchical document that can be described by the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). The user is presented with a 'what you see is what you get' (WYSIWYG) view of the document in which the various objects can be directly manipulated on the display screen. A system shell ensures consistency among the editors and coordinates their foreground and background activities to ensure keystroke responsiveness. Each Quill editor is a programming object that communicate with the shell and with other editors by means of a standard set of procedures. A rigorous specification of the shell/editor interface enables additional editors to be added to the Quill system without affecting the existing editors.
Abstract: The Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is a language for representing document structure. This paper discusses ways in which the SGML language might be used to represent graphic as well as textual contents of a document. By using SGML markup for both graphics and text, a document processing application can achieve a more uniform treatment and tighter coupling between these two types of materials.
Abstract: This paper describes the architecture of a proposed document composition system named JANUS, which is intended to provide support for authors of complex documents containing mixtures of text, line art, and tone art. The JANUS system is highly interactive, providing authors with immediate feedback and direct electronic control over page layouts, using a special two-display workstation. Authors communicate with the system by marking up their documents with high-level descriptive "tags". A tag definition language is provided whereby new tags may be defined and the format of each tagged object may be controlled.
The document was also issued as IBM Computer Science Research Report, RJ3006 (37371), IBM Research Laboratory, San Jose, CA, December 1980.
The document was also issued as IBM Computer Science Research Report, RJ3366 (40402), IBM Research Laboratory, San Jose, CA, January 1982. See the abstract of a previous article under a similar title for a project overview.
Abstract: Recent years have shown two distinct but converging trends in document processing: the trend toward direct manipulation, or "WYSIWYG" systems, and the trend toward high-level generic markup. The Quill project at IBM Research is an attempt to combine the flexibility and ease of use of a WYSIWYG interface with the formatting power of the international standard SGML markup language. The Quill system will present a WYSIWYG user interface but will format documents under control of an external Document Design that specifies the degree of user control over document appearance. Quill includes a tool called the Designer's Workbench that enables a Document Designer to specify the syntax and semantics of a given type of document. Each element in the document type is defined by a "look" consisting of a property sheet and an optional semantic routine. The semantic routines are written in a high-level programming language and can call a set of system-provided utility functions that are designed, according to rules described in this paper, to be suitable for WYSIWYG processing." See also on Quill: Wolfsthal.
See the online version of the [same/related?] article in French.
Available on the Internet: George Charlebois: Le langage SGML : vue d'ensemble et derniers progrès - Flash Réseau #3 or text version. Also: [mirror copy, November 1995]. See similarly the article in English.
Abstract: "The Canadian Department of National Defence requires suppliers to produce technical manuals for equipment supplied to project offices within the department. DND now requires suppliers to support the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).
"The DND CALS Assembly Information Model is the content-oriented SGML structure mandated to markup information about equipment. The technical manuals are typically presentation-oriented, based on a book paradigm.
"A preliminary publishing system architecture along with Document Type Definitions (DTDs) to support this architecture were designed to address the transformation requirements necessary to produce the technical manuals from the information model as well as future requirements that may arise for electronic-based information products. This paper describes the evolution of this architecture, based on feedback from multiple field trials which validated various segments of this preliminary architecture.
"Version 2.0 of the DND CALS DTD with extensive documentation, applications and scenarios based on this architecture is now available from the DND CALS Office."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Case Studies" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: "Just as JAVA has brought an open, distributable way to enable users to interact with data by transferring applications in real time from server to client, so SGML can enable them to interact with persistent database objects by transferring, real time, the database schema for those objects. This talk explores the potential of SGML as a universal database definition language for reusable, distributable information objects and shows how existing technology is already turning that potential into reality."
Note: The electronic conference proceedings in hypertext were produced by Inso Corporation (DynaText) and by High Text (EnLIGHTeN). Information about the SGML Europe '97 Conference may be found in the main database entry.
Abstract: The approach to the production of technical documentation described, arose from a need to supply documentation for a large library of mathematical software. The library has evolved over a period of twenty years and for most of that period the documentation has consisted of printed volumes describing the software routines and the mathematical algorithms on which they are based. In recent years there has been an increasing demand from the users of such software to receive documentation in both printed and online forms. There is also a need to vary the technical content of the documentation. The requirements discussed above have been addressed by developing a database which contains all the information necessary to generate and maintain the technical documentation for mathematical software libraries. The database is an object-oriented model of the software products, containing source code, technical information about the software and small fragments of text marked up in SGML. The database can now be used to generate both the original documents and new documents with varying style, format or content. It also makes the information held in the original documents accessible through regular database queries.
Abstract: "Two approaches to electronic publishing are examined: the conventional batch-oriented programming language approach, and the more elaborate direct-manipulation paradigm. The authors indicate which aspects of document preparation are more conveniently handled under which model and point out several instances of a hybrid approach that takes advantage of multiple representations. The design of a fairly sophisticated document development environment is discussed as an example of a multiple-representation system."
Abstract: The authors review a large number of document development systems for both text and graphics from the perspectives of source-language and direct-manipulation models. They describe the task domain and discuss the pros and cons of direct-manipulation techniques versus a programming-language source code and of procedural versus declarative schemes. They then establish a framework for analyzing and designing multiple-representation systems. The central theme is that program constructs and visual feedback are complementary to each other and that a hybrid approach would be most desirable.
"Abstract: This paper presents a library references recognition system for retrospective conversion of catalogues. The system is guided by a structure model of a reference class, described by an attribute grammar. The analysis method is based on prediction and verification of segmentation hypotheses proposed by the model. The result, given in UNIMARC format, contains the different sub-fields of the reference with their confidence score. This method is general enough to be adopted for any document having a micro-structure. The method has also been used on other kinds of documents such as author index and subjects."
Abstract: "This presentation discusses the ways in which SGML is being used to build prototypes of scholarly editions for distribution on the Internet. Based on the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), the sophisticated markup offers greater intellectual access as well as sophisticated frameworks on which to build editions. Chesnutt will review the work of the consortium and its plans to create an American Documentary Heritage Database encompassing documentary editions drawn from all fields of the arts and sciences."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Newcomer" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
See also the The Model Editions Partnership Home Page, or the main database entry for the Model Editions Partnership in the SGML/XML Web Page. Also, dLib Magazine contains an overview of the project.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Summary: Summary: "The Model Editions Partnership, a consortium of seven historical editions, is currently developing a series of prototypes which will be mounted on the World-Wide Web later this year. These small samples (equivalent to 150-200 pages) will demonstrate a variety of intellectual approaches in creating new editions for the Internet. Using a subset of the SGML markup system developed by the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), the editors are preparing image editions (using images of historical manuscripts) and live text editions (using transcribed historical documents). A third approach uses a sequel database with CGI scripts to provide the user interface. The user interface for the SGML models uses software provided under a grant from Electronic Book Technologies. . .As a successor to the Partnership, we are now preparing the ground to build an American Documentary Heritage database (ADH) Unlike the Partnership, the ADH would include modern editions from all disciplines which publish letters, diaries, journals, public records, and other documentary source materials."
The article is available online in HTML format; local archive copy. Note that the July/August 1997 double issue of D-Lib Magazine (Amy Friedlander, editor) contains several articles referencing the use of SGML encoding in digital library research.
[Excerpt]: "The Partnership is predicated on the view that SGML markup can be used to create the scholarly frameworks required and that SGML markup offers a practical method for preparing and delivering documentary editions. A close study of the scholarly issues involved in preparing documentary editions led to the publication of "A Prospectus for Electronic Historical Editions" in May 1996 (http://mep.cla.sc.edu/MEP-Docs/proptoc.HTM). The Prospectus set forth a series of design principles; a typology of the kind of editions which might be expected to develop; and a discussion of importance of markup."
Abstract available online in HTML format: "The Model Editions Partnership -- Towards a National Database", by David R. Chesnutt; [archive copy]
Additional information on the ACH-ALLC '97 Conference is available in the SGML/XML Web Page main conference entry, or [August 1997] via the Queen's University WWW server. See also the The Model Editions Partnership Home Page, or the main database entry for the Model Editions Partnership.
Summary: "This paper will discuss the relationship of the Text Encoding Initiative to the Model Editions Partnership in general, the relationship of the TEI markup system to each of the prototypes of historical editions in particular. Concluding remarks will focus on the Partnership's experience in working with the TEI Guidelines."
"The Text Encoding Initiative and the SGML markup system developed under its aegis has had a profound effect in the development of digital resources in the humanities. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Model Editions Partnership--a project which is developing prototypes of electronic historical editions on the World Wide Web. [...] Guidelines provided us with a carefully crafted markup system which met most of our needs. If we had had to build a markup system for the Model Editions Partnership from scratch, the Partnership would probably never have come into existence. I think is fair to say that the Partnership exists because the TEI exists."
"Our approach in adapting the TEI Guidelines to our work is probably not uncommon. We have a data capture DTD we use in marking up the texts; and we have an archival form of the DTD for long-term migration. In the data capture DTD, we redefine the element <docGroup> and we have four main elements within it. The document <doc> element is used for fulltext transcriptions; the surrogate <surrogate> element is used for abstracts of documents; the target <target> element is used to provide information about images of original documents; and finally, the docgroup <docgroup> element itself can be used to create sub-groups within a docgroup.
See the database entry for the Model Editions Partnership: Historical Editions in the Digital Age, or the University of South Carolina web site.
The extended abstract for the document is available online: http://www.stg.brown.edu/webs/tei10/tei10.papers/chesnutt.html; [local archive copy]. See the main database entry for additional information about the conference, or the Brown University web site.
"The Model Editions Partnership is a consortium of seven historical editions which joined forces with leaders from the Text Encoding Initiative and the Center for Electronic Text in the Humanities to develop a foundation for the next generation of historical editions. That generation will consist of electronic editions disseminated via the Internet or on CD-ROM (or its equivalent). . . Our central task is to create a set of "Markup Guidelines for Electronic Historical Editions" based on the TEI Guidelines. Document analysis sessions were held last fall and small samples from each of the Partner projects have been encoded using TEI Lite in a series of mock-ups. The samples and the results from the document analysis sessions will guide the development of a subset of the TEI markup as well as extensions to the TEI markup designed specifically for electronic historical editions." [from the Introduction and Current Work]
The document is available online: ; [mirror copy]. See the main entry for the Model Editions Partnership. See also the main workshop entry or the program listing for other workshop details.
The Model Editions Partnership is a consortia of seven ongoing historical editions publishing projects joined in the task of creating electronic editions. Susan Hockey and Michael Sperberg-McQueen will coordinate work in the project. The electronic editions will be created through the use of TEI/SGML encoding. Contributions from the three contributing authors are given in separate papers in the Abstracts volume: "I Already Have A Job: An Editor/Historian Contemplates Electronic Editions" [Gordon]; "Model Editions Partnership: An Overview" [Chesnutt]; "Technical Issues in the Model Editions Partnership" [Sperberg-McQueen], focusing upon the application of the TEI encoding Guidelines.
Abstract: "This paper describes a prototype Collaborative Environment for Language Learning (CELL) which is used for the text-centered multimedia study of Chinese. The CELL uses Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) for the definition and interchange of learning material and is deployed on the Internet through the World Wide Web (WWW). The CELL emphasizes collaboration, taking advantage of the communication capabilities of the Internet, by allowing Chinese language students, teachers, and scholars to share their knowledge with other users of the system. The two-way information flow of the WWW also permits the setup of a virtual classroom with structured exercises and on-line guidance from a human teacher."
Available on the Internet in HTML format, from Text Science, Inc.: [mirror copy, text only]. See also the link to CELL (COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING).
"Abstract: We present a description system for the transformation of structured documents based on context free grammars (CFGs). [The structured documents considered here are similar to those in two international standards: the Open Document Architecture (ODA) and the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). These documents have tree structures; in particular, only leaf nodes are associated with contents such as texts, graphics, and mathematical expressions.] The system caters for transformations between different document class descriptions, and is presented mainly in terms of logical structure transformation. Two requirements for transformation are proposed: the output document class must be explicitly representable, and inconsistency must be avoidable. First, a grammar for document class descriptions, called a T-CFG (tree-preserving context free grammar), is introduced, then SDTT (syntax-directed tree translation) is given for a document transformation. The SDTT transformation is formal, concise, and consistent with the above two requirements."
Chisholm reports on recent progress in computer-based Post-Renaissance German Studies. He says: "Most electronic text centers are encoding textual materials in the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) . . ." The report summarizes activity at the University of Virginia Electronic Text Library, the use of TEI-SGML encoding for German texts, electronic seminars, and other research centers. Two URLs relevant to the German corpora are cited: Greensboro, http://www.uncg.edu/~lixlpurc/german.html and Tucson, http://aruba.ccit.arizona.edu/~chisholm/chisholm.html.
Abstract: "This article identifies problems and proposes solutions for encoding verse texts in SGML. It is organized around a series of distinctions and oppositions which the TEI Work Group on Verse regard as significant. These include examination of the formal properties which distinguish verse from prose, followed by discussions of (1) text-searching vs analysis, (2) markup vs algorithms, (3) markup vs transcription, (4) uniformity vs choice, (5) specificity vs generality, (6) metrical convention vs linguistic realization, (7) structural vs non-structural divisions and (8) fidelity vs interpretation. Using German and English verse forms as illustrations, the advantages and disadvantages of of pre-line tagging, in-line tagging and feature structure analysis are discussed. We suggest that metrical and rhyme conventions always be tagged at the highest possible level of text divisions."
[needs abstract, and xref to published version] Apparently published as pages 313-324 in SIGMOD '94. Draft version vailable in PostScript [UNIX compressed] via FTP from INRIA.
Abstract: Structured documents (e.g. in SGML) can benefit a lot from database support, and more specifically from object-oriented database (OODB) management systems. This paper describes a natural mapping from SGML documents into OODBs and a formal extension of two OODB query languages (one SQL-like and the other a calculus) in order to deal with SGML document retrieval. Although motivated by structured documents, the extensions of query languages that we present are general and useful for a variety of other OODB applications. A key element is the introduction of paths as first class citizens. The new features allow one to query data (and to some extent schema) without exact knowledge of the schema, in a simple and homogeneous fashion.
Submitted for publication to ACM [ECHT '94]. A draft version is available in PostScript [UNIX compressed] via FTP from INRIA. [needs abstract]
"Abstract: Charles Goldfarb has invented a document description language that is about to become extremely useful to many users. In 1979, IBM Corp. had Goldfarb - a law graduate who tired of writing elaborate assembler commands to retrieve data from legal briefs - submit his idea for a new computing standard to control the format of complex documents to the American National Standards Institute, an industry forum for making parts and such interchangeable. What the institute had done for pipe fittings and machine screws it was now trying to do for data files. Goldfarb's language, which he developed with his partners Edward Mosher and Raymond Lorie, went into the public domain as Standard GML (SGML). In the 1980s, the US Defense Department, sagging under the burden of paper documentation that accompanies procurements, demanded that contractors producing manuals for missile frigates, helicopters and the like follow certain formats based on the Goldfarb standard. A key vendor of large electronic publishing systems, Interleaf, added SGML to its products. In 1993, Goldfarb's invention will become a common feature in word processing packages."
A feature article, according to "Forbes Magazine on Charles Goldfarb," SGML Users' Group Newsletter 26 (February 1994) 24, which chronicles and celebrates the work of Charles F. Goldfarb on the development of IBM's GML and SGML language.
The note is a response to the article of Lynne Price, "A Note Comparing SGML to Text Processing Macro Languages,"
The report on the Paris '93 Seybold Conference includes a dedicated section on SGML-based editorial systems. Included in the discussion are: AIS (Berger-Levrault) SGML/Store database server for SGML documents; AIS SGML/Search (an SGML style query language compatible with SGML/Store); AIS Balise (SGML conversion tools); Grif SGML editor; GRIF GATE (an object-oriented environment for editing and database management); MID's use of Open Text's PAT.
Abstract: "Grupo Anaya is engaged in a 3 years project to create an educational encyclopaedia for the XXI century. The editorial work starts from scratch with no legacy information. From day one the encyclopaedia has been conceived as a product and media independent database, ready to be deployed in traditional paper based media as well as through any electronic media and channel (CD-ROM, Internet, cable services, etc.). Textual information is SGML coded, and hyperlinks are HyTime compliant; quantitative and perishable information is stored and maintained in relational databases linked to queries embedded into SGML structures.
"The editorial team, more than 100 authors, works in a distributed environment using internet, intranet and extranet technologies. All of them have access to the central encyclopaedia database (text and images), and also to an electronic library with hundreds of textbooks and reference sources available for documentation purposes. A detailed workflow has been designed to manage the editorial flow between authors, copy editors, documentalists, and managers.
"An evaluation of different SGML-based editorial systems has been undertaken (ASTORIA and SigmaLink among them) together with other standard solutions (Oracle InterOffice). The results of these evaluations together with the architecture of the solution finally adopted will be presented.
"On top of these SGML structures, a knowledge database is built in the form of an object network with semantic relations that will allow the creation of very sophisticated JAVA-based interfaces for Internet access and delivery of the encyclopaedic information. For this purpose, technology developed by GMD-IPSI in the context of MacMillan's Dictionary of Art, will be used.
Note: The electronic conference proceedings in hypertext were produced by Inso Corporation (DynaText) and by High Text (EnLIGHTeN). Information about the SGML Europe '97 Conference may be found in the main database entry.
"The explosive growth of HTML with its role in the World Wide Web has created a whole new market for SGML products and knowledge. This thorough guide to SGML covers the key elements needed to create and use online documents, and emphasizes the use of new easy-to-use software for SGML. The book includes sections on Techniques from the Pros, highlighting examples of SGML documents from experienced users;thoroughly covers SGML elements, software, and more; Extensive Index helps readers find information quickly and easily." [published blurb]
The volume attribution reads: "Written by Martin Colby and David S. Jackson, with Steven J. DeRose, Bob DuCharme, David Durand, Elli Mylonas"; however, casual inspection does not clarify what "with" means in terms of contributions from these four individuals. See the cautions below.
QUE has made available the online Table of Contents [mirror copy] and [as of January 09, 1997], a pre-publication draft of the full text of the book. [*Note: URLs may be assigned dynamically by the QUE server, so if the TOC linkfails, try QUE Home Page or the Que Digital Bookshelf.]
The release of the book occasioned considerable public controversy stemming from an excess of typographic error and/or errors of fact -- so serious, in the minds of some experts, that the book cannot be recommended. See especially the cautionary note by Steve Pepper [criticism for technical inaccuracies], or, more positively, the brief notes by W. Eliot Kimber and by Len Bullard [praise for a good presentation of SGML basics]. Apparently, a large number of recognized errors were not corrected before the book went to press, and it is unclear whether the publisher will release a corrected edition. One may infer that the input from the four recognized SGML authorities was not fully taken into account.
"Abstract: Working with documents in electronic format is inherently different from dealing with materials in print; nor can all electronic formats be considered equivalent. Processing and presenting SGML is not the same as processing and presenting materials in other markup or word processing formats. To maximize flexibility and extensibility, SGML is highly modular, which complicates implementation. Its emphasis on content structure rather than appearance enhances searchability but makes consistent and precise display difficult. Mechanisms used to maximize platform and software independence (e.g., entities, link protocols), though effective, can be used incorrectly or in ways difficult to implement on some systems or using certain software. This paper considers how difficult questions remain for libraries planning to implement SGML."
Abstract: "This report explores the suitability of Standard Generalized Markup Language for developing and providing access to digital libraries, with special emphasis on preservation issues. In a staged tutorial, the authors explain how the use of descriptive markup tools such as SGML is crucial to the quality and long-term accessbility of digitized materials."
"Abstract: This paper describes the development of a family of electronic library projects at De Montfort University including: ELINOR, the first UK electronic literary project; ELISE, the European project to develop interconnected image banks in libraries; ELSA, a European SGML project and PHOENIX, an on-demand publishing project in the UK E:Lib programme. The copyright and licensing issues arising out of these projects, particularly the ELINOR project are discussed. The negotiations with publishers in the ELINOR project have resulted in a model agreement which is increasingly being accepted by publishers and which streamlines the negotiation process. Finally, mention is made of initial progress being made towards a model agreement for images."
For further information on ELSA (Electronic Library SGML Applications), see the main ELSA entry in the Academic Applications section.
Abstract: "Some of the information processed through SGML systems should never be stored in a document instance. In particular, tabular data may already be maintained and stored in a relational database. This paper discusses the alternatives and outlines a strategy for integrating relational data in an SGML instance, and for automating the process of updating and delivering the information content."
[Conclusion:] "We have seen that not all information contained in documents should be stored there. Graphic elements provide one obvious example of this principle, which we can easily extend to tabular data. Using relational database technology and SQL, the data can be managed appropriately; while SGML provides the mechanism for delivery. This paper has offered a simple strategy for integrating these systems, through the storage of SQL queries in the SGML instance and scripts to intelligently process those queries."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Newcomer" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: "The Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is a complex system for developing markup languages. It is used to define the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) used in the World Wide Web, as well as several other hypermedia document representations.
"Systems with interactive performance constraints use only the simplest features of SGML. Unfortunately, the specification of those features is subtly mixed into the specification of SGML in all its generality. As a result, a number of ad-hoc SGML lexical analyzers have been developed and deployed on the Internet, and reliability has suffered.
"We present a self-contained specification of a lexical analyzer that uses automated parsing techniques to handle SGML document types limited to a tractable set of SGML features. An implementation is available as well."
Available electronically: http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Journal/3/s2.connolly.html; [archive copy].
See the dedicated document containing abstracts and annotations. The book was reviewed by Bob DuCharme in <TAG> Volume 11, Number 3 (March 1998) 1-2.
Abstract: "XML, a landmark in the evolution of Internet information systems, allows authors to say what they mean, rather than merely how to say it. The shift to XML will unleash a diverse range of new applications, ranging from mathematcial equation structures to new browser and client tools. This issue of the Web Journal, by guest editor Dan Connolly, is your first look at the technical specifications and early applications of a new data format that will rock every aspect of the Web, including markup, linking, and exchange." [from the publisher]
The volume is to be published as 'Volume 2, Issue 4' of the World Wide Web Journal, published by O'Reilly & Associates.
See also online: XML: Principles, Tools, and Techniques: Full Description [archive copy]. An the online table of contents is also avaliable, [local archive copy].
Summary: "Guest Editor Dan Connolly and Series Editor Rohit Khare team up to herald the appearance of XML and discuss its evolution from the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)."
Abstract: "HTML is the ubiquitous data format for Web pages; most information providers are not even aware that there are other options. But now, with the development of XML, that is about to change. Not only will the choices of data formats become more apparent, but they will become more attractive as well. Although XML succeeds HTML in time, its design is based on SGML, which predates HTML and the Web altogether. SGML was designed to give information managers more flexibility to say what they mean, and XML brings that principle to the Web. Because it allows the development of custom tagsets, we can think of XML as HTML without the 'training wheels.' In this article, we trace the history and evolution of Web data formats, culminating in XML. We evaluate the relationship of XML, HTML, and SGML, and discuss the impact of XML on the evolution of the Web."
A version of this document is available online in HTML format: http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~adam/papers/xml/ascent-of-xml.html.
The article presents a model for information systems reengineering which is based upon "organic" principles of synchronizing technology and business. He relates the arguments to SGML. The article includes sidebars on "Organic DTDs" (11) and "HyTime and SGML" (17-19).
Abstract: "Many people mistakenly believe that SGML (the Standard Generalized Markup Language, ISO 8879) is useful only for document production. SGML can also be used for non-document applications, for example, to manage administrative and financial information data sets to support project planning, process improvement, and re-engineering efforts. SGML can help balance mechanical (efficiency-oriented) and organic (flexibility-oriented) approaches to information management, thereby contributing to the adaptability and well-being of an organization. This article looks at SGML implementation efforts at the Department of Energy's Hanford, Washington site and discusses the value of the standard for managing information in a changing organizational environment."
Available online: from WWW.KTIC.COM Knowledge Management Metazine (http://www.ktic.com/topic6/KMSGML.htm), or from the Sagebrush Group server: "SGML: It's Not Just for Documents Anymore", mirror copy]. The article "is a revision of work previously prepared by the author while employed by Boeing Computer Services, Richland. It was published November, 1994, in The Proceedings of SGML '94 and was presented at SGML '94, Vienna, Virginia, November 6-11, 1994."
Abstract: "Organizational decisionmaking patterns determine SGML investment strategies and potential benefits. A framework for understanding the primary policy objectives that can influence the selection of SGML (inherent policy effects) and application design (user-defined policy goals) will be presented. Competing and often contradictory goals and perceptions of value often make the development of a business case for SGML very difficult. Methods for integrating stakeholder principles, interests, and expectations in the early stages of application conceptualization and design will increase real and perceived benefits and de-fuse potential political problems before they develop."
See the bibliography entry for a related article by Kurt Conrad, "SGML, HyTime, and Organic Information Management Models.".
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML Business Management" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Abstract: "This paper/presentation is an update of the one which was delivered at SGML'95. It is intended to be a general introduction to the issues and concepts involved in the selection of software tools for the electronic delivery and retrieval of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) documents. In addition, some of the issues unique to publishing to CD-ROM or via the World Wide Web will be explored."
A similar version of this paper is available online: "Tools for Implementing SGML-Based Information Systems: Viewers and Browsers, Text Retrieval Engines, and CD-ROMs," based on a paper which was presented at SGML'95, December 4-7, 1995 and published in the conference proceedings. URLs: http://www.3-cities.com/~conrad/delivery.htm, [mirror copy].
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML Newcomer" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
"Reducing and managing the risk associated with large information technology projects is critical if emerging technologies like SGML and HyTime are to gain acceptance. For most organizations, the adoption of these standards means significant changes to tools, processes, responsibilities, and even the way people think about information. Few organizations are prepared at a strategic level to identify, understand, and manage risks of this magnitude. . . Organic Information Management Models (OIMMs), as contrasted against strictly engineered approaches, offer potential solutions to the risks associated with these transitions. Fundamentally, OIMMs shift the focus from technology to its impact on and relationship to human behaviors. By helping individuals and organizations adapt to environmental changes, OIMMs increase the value of information technology investments and protect those investments through time. SGML and HyTime developers should understand the principles of OIMMs, both to protect their own projects from political disruption, and because much of the importance of SGML and HyTime results from their ability to balance engineered and organic definitions of value." [from the Executive Summary]
Available online: http://www.3-cities.com/~conrad/organic.htm, [mirror copy]. "This article was prepared for and presented at The 2nd International Conference on the Application of HyTime, August 16-17, 1995."
The authors, long-time users of WordPerfect, offer a sober appraisal: "We have been waiting for a very long time for WordPerfect to ship a stable commercial version of this product. . .And we are still waiting." The epithet "daisyware" has its origin in the ditty: "We love it...we hate it."
"Abstract: The Defense Department's (DOD) Computer-Aided Lifecycle Support (CALS) initiative, a 10-year-old project that intends to digitize weapons and logistics systems, is given a boost by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). The influential Japanese agency created the Nippon CALS Research Partnership and fueled it with $50 million in funding. The partnership is composed of some 70 Japanese companies that paid about $50,000 for membership. Following in the heels of the Partnership was the CALS Industry Forum-Japan, a standards-setting group that was formed by 150 member companies. MITI officials have announced that Japanese government money for CALS projects will total $350 million within a three-year period. The Japanese CALS will experiment with US-CALS formats, such as SGML, IETM and STEP."
Abstract: The authors argue that many word processing systems distract authors from their tasks of research and composition, toward concern with typographic and other tasks. Emphasis on "WYSIWYG", while helpful for display, has ignored a more fundamental concern: representing document structure. Four main types of markup are analyzed: Punctuational (spaces, punctuation,...), presentational (layout, font choice,...), procedural (formatting commands), and descriptive (mnemonic labels for document elements). Only some ancient manuscripts have no markup. Any form of markup can be formatted for display, but descriptive markup is privileged because it reflects the underlying structure. ISO SGML is a descriptive markup standard, but most benefits are available even before a standard is widely accepted. A descriptively marked-up document is not tied to formatting or printing capabilities. It is maintainable, for the typographic realization of any type of element can be changed in a single operation, with guaranteed consistency. It can be understood even with no markup formatting software: compare "<blockquote>" to ".sk 3 a; .in +10 -10; .ls 0; .cp 2". It is relatively portable across views, applications and systems. Descriptive markup also minimizes cognitive demands: the author need only recall (or recognize in a menu) a mnemonic for the desired element, rather than also deciding how it is currently to appear, and recalling how to obtain that appearance. Most of this extra work is thrown away before final copy; descriptive markup allows authors to focus on authorship. (abstract supplied by Steve DeRose)
An online version HTML version is available on the Internet; [mirror copy, partially linked]. This seminal article is now reprinted in The Digital Word: Text-Based Computing in the Humanities, eds. George P. Landow and Paul Delaney (Cambridge/London: MIT Press, 1993) 85-118. Note in the same Digital Word volume a follow-up article: Steven J. DeRose, "Markup Systems in the Present" (pages 119-135). A review of the article was written by Chris Hallgren ; [mirror copy]. See also a response by the Chameleon team in CACM 31/7 (July 1988) 810-811, cited with its authors.
Abstract: "In 1995, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and the University of Waterloo forged a new type of relationship. CIBC worked with the University to provide parts of its technical writing course (English 210E). It is the first course in Canada to be taught entirely on the Internet simultaneously to on-campus and distance education students. CIBC provided the University of Waterloo course with the perspective, experience and viewpoint of workplace technical communication while the university gave CIBC SGML/HTML training and a glimpse into the possible future of corporate communication and learning. This unique arrangement is just one way corporate Canada can work with academe to their mutual benefit."
Several other articles in this proceedings volume are germane to SGML: Tom Banfalvi, et al., "Manufacturing Documentation in the Virtual Warehouse"; Betsy Brown, et al., "From Hardcopy to Online: Changes to the Editor's Role and Processes"; Paul Beam and Peter Goldsworthy, "Technical Writing on the Web-Distributed SGML-Based Learning"; Cindy Roposh, et al., "Developing Single-Source Documentation for Multiple Formats"; Paul Prescod, "Multiple Media Publishing in SGML"; Lin-Ju Yeh, et al., "SSQL: a Semi-Structured Query Language for SGML Document Retrievals"; Dee Stribling, et al., "A Real World Conversion to SGML".
Abstract: "The use a multi-task system seems to open up new possibilities in document preparation. This paper presents such an approach, bringing together the wide possibilities of old markup techniques with the convenience of recently appeared interactive systems. It requires a very clear separation between a document's content and its formatting specification. Furthermore, the latter can be favorably expressed with a descriptive formalism based on the document's logical structure."
Abstract: "Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) allows the creation of content to be separated from the formatting or delivery of information. The ability to deliver data authored once in several different formats is one of the major benefits organizations site when stating their reasons for moving to SGML. However, few organizations have the foresight to understand how SGML will be spread across their organization. In this paper, I will discuss the two basic adoption models of SGML in corporations and how these two different models can sometimes create the same problem and may have the same solution.
"SGML has always allowed you to define a group of elements and reuse those elements in multiple DTDs. Many companies that have to manage a group of DTDs that are reused in multiple other DTDs use this modularity of SGML to their advantage. However, not until recently was there a way to enforce and express formally these reusable components. The use of the meta-DTD was first defined by ISO/IEC 10744 (HyTime) and defines the structure and semantics of a class of documents which conform to an 'SGML architecture'.
"Declaring an architecture is easy. If you've ever written a DTD, you already know almost everything you need to know how to do it. The SGML Extended facilities describes a new markup declaration type called an AFDR (Architectural Form Definition Requirements). Documents can conform to one or more enabling architectures such as HyTime and SMDL. The declaration consists of two parts, a list of architectures to which the document conforms and a declaration for each architecture in the list. The list of architectures used is declared using a processing instruction that starts with the keyword ArcBase and is followed by a list of architectures used in the document. This processing instruction should precede any architecture declarations for base architectures. You can have more than one ArcBase processing instruction. Architectures are 'connected' to elements via their attribute declaration. If an element in a user DTD is derived from a corporate architecture, that fact is recorded in the user DTD. If two different user DTDs use the same architecture, information can be seamlessly interchanged between the two user DTDs by simply 'deriving' the user DTD content model back to its architectural form. This allows the best of both worlds in SGML. Users can have application specific DTDs that meet their particular needs while the corporation can have a standard base from which to create processing systems, training materials, and develop new authoring DTDs."
This paper was delivered as part of the "User" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Further information on architectural forms processing and SGML architectures is available in the dedicated database section of the SGML/XML Web Page, "Architectural Forms and SGML Architectures."
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: "This presentation discusses two ways of looking at industry-wide information modeling. It seeks to provide an understanding for why certain industries adopt certain models. Simply, structural document markup is used to describe the traditional 'book' structure you might find in a document, for example: book, chapter, section, paragraph. A representative user of this structural markup model is (not surprisingly) the American Association of Publishers. Semantical document markup (sometimes called 'content tagging') uses a data-centered markup to indicate special pieces of information, for example: partnumber, voltage, resistance, phonenumber. A representative user of this semantical markup model is the Automotive Industry (J2008). The author suggests that there are good reasons why each industry makes its own particular choices."
Other information on "SGML '95: 'Expanding the Universe'" is referenced in the main conference entry.
A favorable review of Chet Ensign's book SGML [$GML]: The Billion Dollar Secret, published in the Charles F. Goldfarb Series On Open Information Management. "Chet Ensign has made easier the life of anyone who needs to sell SGML. . .Many of the sticky questions that you would have had to face when presenting your business case have been answered."
The authors present an overview of TEDD (Telecommunications Electronic Document Delivery) and TIM (Telecommunications Industry Markup). These two sets of guidelines (governed by SGML DTDs) are presented within the wider context of telecommunications industry standards, as work by the TCIF/IPI (Telecommunications Industry Forum Information Products Interchange). For more information about the TEDD and TIM guidelines, contact Diane Tucker of SouthBell: diane.tucker@bst.bls.com (+ 1 205-977-7337).
Summary: "...The Telecommunications Industry Forum Information Product Interchange (TCIF/IPI) committee [has] submitted two letter ballots dealing with telecommunications document interchange. These long awaited guidelines cover text file formats and an overall "exchange package" directory structure developed and tested by the Committee. Later there will be guidelines on graphics and hypermedia. The two guidelines, affectionately known to Telecom insiders as TIM and TEDD (Telecommunications Industry Markup and Telecommunications Electronic Document Delivery), are designed to address information interchange between producers of Telecommunications equipment and the Providers of Telecommications Service Providers."
The document is available online in HTML format: http://commerce4.best.com/~sgml/tcif-ipi.htm; [local archive copy]. For more information, see the dedicated database entry on TCIF/IPI (Telecommunications Industry Forum Information Products Interchange), or the Telecommunication Industry Forum (TCIF) Home Page.
The paper addresses the notion that "the SGML DBMS wasexpected to fulfill the potential of SGML, offering added dimensions of true data reuse, collaborative authoring, version management, and robust query and navigational capabilities" vis-à-vis the more common reality -- that "a lack of appropriate tools and even a lack of conceptual strategy [have] left SGML implementations to languish in traditional monolithic, document-centric quagmires. . . while on a conceptual level, the reuse of SGML components is sexy, in practice, it often becomes just plain scary. SGML simply lacks the addressing mechanisms necessary to describe and manage relationships across a set of documents and without architectures, the define common semantics and constraints across families of document."
How can HyTime help? "If you have not yet chosen a database system, HyTime can serve as a useful modelling tool to design your documentation linking and classification needs. Defining a set of architectures in HyTime can help greatly in understanding and implementing an eventual database system. HyTime allows you to create a specification of how systems must function before you even begin to shop for an SGML database solution. Having a definite model of your information management needs is an import first step in any technology decision." [extracted]
An online version of the document is available in the PROCEEDINGS of the Third GCA International HyTime Conference, from GCA and High Text; [mirror copy].
The article is part one in a three-part serialized article on creating a "business case" for SGML. By "business case" the authors mean: "a formal written document that proposes the use of corporate assets and resources for the accomplishent of a specific goal." The authors introduce the topic with a review of SGML as a special kind of technology change that requires its own kind of financial justification.
The article is part two in a three-part serialized article on creating a "business case" for SGML. By "business case" the authors mean: "a formal written document that proposes the use of corporate assets and resources for the accomplishent of a specific goal." In this article, the authors expand upon the concept of business case methodology, including outline development and team selection.
This article is (final) part three in a serialized article published in <TAG> on creating a "business case" for SGML. By "business case" the authors mean: "a formal written document that proposes the use of corporate assets and resources for the accomplishent of a specific goal." In this concluding article, the authors "explore how to ensure that everyone is doing the same thing (or at least related things) ... to get the right things done right." The article has a sidebar listing significant SGML-related books published 1990 - 1997: "Carla and Kent's Recommended SGML Books."
"Abstract: Increasingly, information retrieval systems have to manage long, structured documents. In this case, the retrieval of whole documents will not satisfy the users. It is necessary to offer to them some tools to easily localize some passages which are probably the most interesting. This paper gives some elements to define what a passage is and how it is used for indexing and searching purposes. We suggest a strategy to define a passage according to both the document structure (using an SGML marked-up structure) and the size of the document components. One passage is then indexed and managed as an information unit. This paper also proposes some methods to put back a retrieved passage in its general context. The structure tree and the step-by-step extension of the information displayed help the user to make sense of the consultation of the retrieved pieces of information."
Abstract: "The VUBIS-Antwerpen library network has in recent years adopted the SGML standard as a key standard for the exploitation of its catalogues and for the creation of what we believe to be new and innovative services. This paper presents a brief report on ongoing SGML-projects at the University of Antwerp: CCB, Antilope, Impala and HyperLib."
The document is available online in HTML format: "The Use of SGML in the VUBIS-Antwerpen Library Network" [mirror copy, text only, December 1995]. For further details on the 1995 Conference and BeLux, see the contact information for SGML BeLux.
Abstract: "SGML, or Standard Generalised Markup Language, is an international standard (ISO 8879) allowing the logical structure of electronic documents to be represented rigorously and independent of applications. This article does not discuss the actual standard, but rather proposes a strategy libraries can consider when implementing SGML applications on top of existing products, or when embedding these in innovative end-user services. Experiences of SGML within the VUBIS-Antwerpen Library Network (Belgium) are discussed. VUBIS-Antwerpen has adopted SGML as a key standard for the exploitation of its bibliographical data (union catalogues, document ordering, online contents, current awareness, publishing on the World Wide Web). With the move towards electronic publication and distribution of documents, SGML tends to become a crucial standard for digital libraries. Projects such as TEI, ELSA, DECOMATE and ELVYN now focus on access to and delivery of full-text electronic documents, using SGML to manipulate, process and transform the document for the purposes of full-text searching or hypertext navigation."
Summary: "SGML allows the writer, the musician, the programmer, the typesetter, videographer and the artist (or computer equivalents) to clearly communicate to one another and coordinate their efforts. Hypermedia requires many sorts of information to be combined in a single output system that is similar to how we currently turn information into knowledge. Together, they partner to accurately transmit the significance of an author's information to an audience while freeing the author's creativity. Social and economic trends indicate that SGML and hypermedia tools will become ever more widely used as they become less expensive and better integrated into commercial software (as structuring aids). SGML, in its own futuristic manner, shares with the language of music the properties that it allows many different instruments to be orchestrated while it frees the composition to exist across time and space, recombined, reinterpreted, and everlastingly alive in ways we can't currently imagine." [from the Conclusion]
A version of the <TAG> article is available online.
A three-part article covering SGML bibliography and resources in 10 major categories, including SGML software available on the Internet.
The bibliography contains 103 references pertinent to SGML, and particularly, to academic applications of SGML. The volume itself is reprinted from the special triple-issue of Computers and the Humanities (CHUM volume 29, numbers 1-3, 1995). See the main bibliographic entry for the volume, or the volume description for further details.
The article includes introductory essay sections delineating the fundamental conceptions of SGML, its broad application, and the advantages it brings to academia, industry and government sectors. Abstract: SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) is used to describe structured documents and related digital information in a machine and application independent way. Markup is added to a text or SGML database to describe its features rather than to specify processing instructions to be carried out. We elaborate on the need for SGML and for a bibliographic guide to SGML documents and resources. We further describe the development of a printed and electronic bibliography covering SGML and related issues in text processing. An extract of the most significant entries from the comprehensive bibliography is included.
A revised print version of a bibliographic and information database (compiled by Robin Cover), structured in SGML-database and formatted with SGML ->> BibTeX utilities developed at Queen's University by Nick Duncan and David Barnard. For print copies, contact: (1) Department of Computing and Information Science; Queen's University; Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6; TEL: (613) 545-6056; Email (Internet): heather@qucis.queensu.ca, or (2) the Graphic Communications Association. The printed version of the database contains a "Short Bibliography" of 67 essential references, and a fuller "Main Bibliography" with 1403 citations (many with abstracts). The second major section is an SGML Directory for some 117 SGML-supporting groups in academia, government, or industry: each entry supplies addresses, descriptions of software products or SGML services, and references. The Table of Contents may be seen here.
Abstract: This paper chronicles the work of the TEI textual criticism working groups through several phases, documenting how and why the design goals were shaped by the requirements of several distinct user communities and by the nature of the textual evidence itself. Encoding schemes for the representation of physical details of textual witnesses were unified with encoding schemes for critical editing practices when it was observed that the two phenomena were inextricably layered and linked within real texts. Rationale is offered for the development teams' adherence to exceedingly general design principles: (a) the requirement that the encoding notations be neutral in text-theoretic terms; (b) the need to accommodate dramatically different text-transmission phenomena and research goals within diverse text-critical arenas; (c) the need for commensurability of the text-critical markup with encoding notations used in closely related text-analytic research. The paper also assesses the results of the effort in terms of the encoding scheme's adequacy for several scholarly purposes: suggestions are made concerning the need for programmatic testing, for refinement, and for extension of the encoding model to support a broader range of text-transmission phenomena and research objectives.
Abstract: "This paper presents the design of a document preparation system that allows users to make use of existing batch formatters and yet provides an interactive user interface with 'what-you-see-is-what-you-get' feedback."
Abstract: "Structured documents such as those developed for SGML, GML, or LaTeX usually contain a combination of text and tags. Since various types of documents require tags with different placement, the creator of a document must learn and retain a large amount of knowledge. Rita consists of an editor and user interface which are controlled by a grammar or description of a document type and its tags, and which guide the user in preparing a document, thus avoiding the problems of tags being used or placed incorrectly. The user interface contains a display which is almost WYSIWYG so that the appearance of the document can be examined while it is being prepared. This paper describes Rita, its user interface and some of its internal structure and algorithms, and relates anecdotal user experiences. Comparisons are also made with other commercial and experimental systems."
Received 14-March-1991, Revised 16-November-1991.
"Abstract: Reading and understanding programs is a key activity in software reengineering, development, and maintenance. The ability of people to understand programs is directly related to the ease with which the source code and documentation can be read. Thus, enhancements to the style of presentation should heighten this comprehensibility. We describe methods that use markup languages such as SGML to embed information about the syntax and semantics of a program in the program code, and then show how these can be used to enhance its presentation style. We also briefly discuss the extension of these markup language concepts to text databases, and indicate how they can support various structural views of the code through browsing techniques associated with database queries."
Available online in Postscript format: ftp://csg.uwaterloo.ca/pub/ADV/theory/reengine.ps.gz; [mirror copy].
Many sophisticated and specialized editing programs have been developed in recent years. These editors help people manipulate data, but the diversity complicates rather than simplifies computer use. LEXX is an editing program that can work with the syntax and structure of the data it is presenting, yet is not restricted to just one kind of data. It is used for editing programs, documents, and other material and hence provides a consistent environment for the user regardless of the editing task. The new live parsing technique used by LEXX means that it can be programmed to handle a very wide variety of structured data. The structure information is, in turn, used to improve the presentation of data (through color, fonts, and formatting), which makes it easier for people to deal with the text being edited.
Abstract: MCG has developed an SGML database system with a view to information reuse. The system integrates workflow, an SGML editor, and an SGML database. The system implements extensive metadata about the SGML objects.
"MCG worked from a few concepts to build a complete environment: 1) There is only a certain amount of useful information concerning a given product; 2) The information can be divided into distinct, identifiable components; 3) The information components can be implemented in such a way that they can be gathered into myriad deliverable collections and in various media; 4) Handling information in this manner saves time and effort over the long run by reducing noncreative work.
"This paper describes: 1) the methods we used to analyze our information requirements, 2) translating those requirements into a DTD that supports modular information structures, 3) defining metadata requirements so a database supports the information structures, 4) and the application functions and features we integrated into the environment."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Case Studies" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Summary: "Often the decision to implement SGML in a technical documentation or commercial publishing environment follows a lengthy persuasion process, led by a few individuals who were first to recognize its merits. Even when the use of SGML is mandated from the top down, managers must convince coworkers and staff that the switch to SGML is worth the effort. According to Liora Alschuler, author of The ABCs of SGML, there are basically three levels within an organization that may require internal selling-upper management, peers and staff. And each of these levels requires a different type of 'sale.' The internal selling of SGML should also be an ongoing process, where the SGML champions continually remind themselves and others of why the adoption of SGML is beneficial until the benefits are manifest."
The document is available online in HTML format: http://commerce4.best.com/~sgml/sellsgml.htm; [local archive copy].
The author discusses the electronic publishing system installed at over 70 sites in the UK ("System 400"), and the capacity of the system to inport SGML-structured data. The article is based upon a paper originally delivered at an SGML Users' Group Meeting at the University of Leeds, October, 1987.
"SGML and the ICADD Methodology: Since December 1991, Dr. Rubinsky has served as a member ICADD, which is developing strategies and techniques for the use of SGML to generate Braille, large-print and voice-synthesized texts. ICADD's work began with three assumptions: 1) the markup technique must be straightforward and simple; 2) only one set of markup--if a second markup is required for nonvisual encoding, it will likely not happen; 3) archival documents must always contain the richest possible markup, thereby further facilitating access to the document. Given those assumptions, the ICADD technical subcommittee's goals were: 1) to make the transform process as automatic as possible; 2) to keep the technique simple; and 3) to reduce the costs involved in making texts available for the print-disabled community. The committee believes it is possible to have creators of DTDs build in the relevant attributes to allow for Braille, large-print, and voice-synthesis from the files encoded for other purposes, as a by-product." [extracted]
This article is a report by Mark Crook based upon an address by Yuri Rubinsky as part of OCLC's "Distinguished Seminar Series", held at OCLC on October 11, 1994.
The article is available online: from the OCLC WWW server, http://www.oclc.org/oclc/new/n212/research.htm [mirror copy, partially linked]. Note that the article has a linked page with a photograph of Yuri Rubinsky. For more information on ICADD, see the main entry in this database.
"Abstract: As part of the ongoing research of Auburn University's GRASP (Graphical Representations of Algorithms, Structures and Processes) project, a markup language has been designed and prototyped to facilitate the automatic generation of static program visualizations from source code. Specifically, the latest release of the GRASP/Ada tool uses a markup language called GRASP-ML as the basis for automatically generating control structure diagrams from Ada source code. This markup language is described, and its role in reverse engineering with GRASP/Ada is explained. Finally, promising future work is outlined and discussed."
Abstract: "The ATA has been developing interchange DTDs since 1989 and several maintenance, training, and operations documents are currently being delivered in SGML. With the introduction of XML ( eXtensible Markup Language ) as a draft standard for web applications of SGML, the ATA must review their interchange DTDs to determine the impact of supporting web delivery of XML documents in the future. This paper will explore the impact of XML on the ATA interchange model. The conference presentation will demonstrate, using a representative ATA document, the steps required to move from SGML to XML for a typical industry interchange and will demonstrate how a data model might be used to facilitate this interchange."
This paper was delivered as part of the "User" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: "The joint Air Transport Association/Aerospace Industries Assn (ATA/AIA) Graphics Working Group has developed a specification for Intelligent Graphics (IGEXCHANGE) to support the interchange of graphical application structures containing information which is non-graphical in nature. This paper will cover the development of industry requirements for intelligent graphics, describe Amendment 2 to the Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) Standard developed to support application structuring of graphics, and describe the ATA industry profile of that standard. In addition, the use of SGML syntax to describe attributes associated with application structures will be discussed."
See: ATA profile -- ATA Specification 2100 Graphics Exchange, and EPCES relationship to ATA 2100 for other information on the ATA profile.
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML User" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Abstract: "The emerging broadband telecommunications network promises to support a myriad of new mass-market information services that may in turn create a tremendous demand for new source materials capable of exploiting the multimedia transport capability of the network. Authoring such material is presently a complex and time-consuming process requiring specialized tools. We propose that a descriptive markup language, based on SGML and enhanced for interactive multimedia applications, can form the basis for a new set of authoring tools that will let experienced text authors transfer their skills to multimedia documents. Experience with a prototype version of such a language in the production of an experimental electronic magazine indicates that the approach is valid and useful. Future work includes defining text-like structure in temporal media and creating a unified set of editing and previewing tools."
Summary: "This article attempts to clarify the relationships among SGML, HTML and XML, and focuses on the advantages of XML as the future of online document publishing. If you already publish online documents - or are planning to but are having problems putting all the pieces together - this article is for you."
"XML (Extensible Markup Language) aims to bridge the gap between SGML and HTML. Essentially a simplified and modernized remake of SGML that removes many SGML's more complex and less-used features, XML is based on a flexible model that will make writing programs to handle XML much easier than writing programs for full SGML. XML will also make it easier for authors to produce documents for many different output media (such as paper, online help, or the World Wide Web) from a single source."
Reprinted from Intercom Magazine, a publication of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). Available online in HTML format; [local archive copy] or [local archive copy]. See the main XML database entry for more information on the Extensible Markup Language.
Abstract: "The simplicity of document creation was a key element in the astonishingly rapid development of the Web. This article describes XML and CSS: the 'one-two' punch that will not only bring back that level of simplicity, but also enable the construction of complex applications which are either difficult or impossible using HTML. In this article we outline the steps for using a CSS style sheet in an XML document; we discuss the limitations of CSS in complex applications, and we present a real life example."
[Lead paragraph:] "Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet mechanism specifically developed to meet the needs of Web designers and users. HTML provides limited possibilities for the explicit formatting and positioning of text, and the mechanisms that are provided (such as the FONT element, or the ALIGN attribute) force the page designer to embed presentation-specific information within the document making it difficult to prepare documents for a variety of screen sizes, presentation modalities (e.g., speech), and types of audiences. These limited features are not sufficient to achieve the formatting desired by many Web designers. Designers commonly resort to using tables and various HTML coding "tricks" to obtain the desired results. Among the many negative consequences of this is that the information content of HTML documents is very hard to maintain as that content is inextricably interwined with the format related encoding. More sophisticated formatting capabilities have been needed to support a wide range of types of documents from marketing froufrou to legal documents to scientific journals. CSS provides HTML with a real style sheet language with far greater control over document presentation in a way that is independent of document content. CSS style sheets can be used to set fonts, colors, white space, positioning, backgrounds, and many other presentational aspects of a document. It is possible for several documents to share the same style sheet, enabling you to maintain consistent presentation within a collection of related documents, without having to modify each document separately." [from the online version]
A version of this document is available online in HTML format: http://shoal.w3.org/w3j-xml/cssxml/grifcss.htm. See also in Web Review: "XML and CSS," by Stuart Culshaw, Michael Leventhal, and Murray Maloney.
For more information on the GATE Project, see the GATE main entry.
For more information on the GATE Project, see the GATE main entry.
Discusses the use of DynaText (from Electronic Book Technologies) and a remote access server.
Abstract: "This paper describes the use of XML in a Lotus Notes publishing project at the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (BNA). The paper reviews the current batch publishing environment available with the Lotus Notes Newsstand product and describes the new process that utilizes XML. It also covers the advantages of using a well-formed XML over RTF, data conversion issues, and the development of an XML processor to import XML into Lotus Notes."
This paper was delivered as part of the "User" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: "In the medical industry, the accuracy of data is a matter of life and death. Therefore, accurate data conversion is a necessity whenever a new system is implemented. This article describes the conversion process of the National Library of Medicine as they moved their materials into an on-line system though the use of SGML publishing technologies], and will be of interest to anyone who is concerned with the accuracy and quality of data." [adapted]
The document is available online in HTML format: http://www.dclab.com/nlm.htm; [local mirror copy]. For further information on the use of SGML by the National Library of Medicine for database publishing, see the main entry for the NLM.
Structured authoring systems designed for the creation of generically encoded reusable information have context-sensitive application of markup, markup supression, cueing and automated formatting, structural navigation, and self-validation features. They are a real alternative to conventional publishing systems.
"The (DIAP) suggest a new data model for the bibliographic control of and access to digital image collections, one based on current, standard cataloging practice but enlarged to incorporate the additional detail, hierarchy, and version information needed to adequately describe digital collections. . .The proposed data model could readily be "housed" in an SGML-encoded bibliographic (metadata) record that encapsulates both summary bibliographic information along with detailed hierarchical and version-related data, when such data is appropriate and considered useful to record. The record would also include links to the actual digital items, to other related bibliographic records or, in fact, to diverse, related digital objects (such as external electronic publications, databases, numeric files, etc.) The working designation SGML Catalog Record (SCR) is proposed for this new type of record." [extracted]
The document is available online: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/projects/diap/paper.html; [mirror copy].
"A project currently under way at Columbia University Libraries attempts to address some of this next set of tasks. Specifically, as part of our digital library cataloging of collections of digital images and of electronic reproductions of printed texts, we are beginning to catalog directly into an SGML-MARC record. If this project is successful, the "master records" for much of our digital library will be created and stored in SGML-MARC; from that master record we will derive both a MARC record for loading into local and national MARC databases, as well as an HTML record that can be readily used in our campus Web information systems" [extracted]
The document is available online: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/projects/sgml/sgmlmarc/davis.9603.html; [mirror copy, text only]. See the main workshop entry or the program listing for other workshop details.
The author (a founding member of <TAG>: The SGML Newsletter) reflects on the previous ten years, particularly on the competition between ODA and SGML in the years immediately after 1986. He discusses the successes and (hitherto) failures of SGML to win a hearing in the marketplace.
This tribute is printed in a special issue of <TAG> dedicated to the memory of Yuri Rubinsky. See also the main eulogy collection.
"Abstract: This paper examines the process by which new academic library services are created in response to a changing academic ecology with reference to a particular case study -- that of Indiana University's still developing Library Electronic Text Resource Service (LETRS). It explains the recent rise of interest in electronic texts as a product of social forces generated by the evolution of industrial capitalism. This evolution has resulted in the creation of complex social organizations and information technologies designed to control the complex processes of industrial expansion. We are only now beginning to develop adequate scientific explanations of this evolution."
The latter sections of Day's article delineate the institution's commitment to SGML technologies in the management of electronic texts. Many of the features in the LETRS technical model are similar to those developed the University of Virginia and University of Michigan. See the section devoted to LETRS elsewhere in this database, or link via GOPHER to the LETRS site.
Another abstract for the article is available from ETEXTCTR Review #2 (Jerry Caswell).
"Abstract: In this chapter we discuss the advantages of a structured model of documents in a cooperative editor. The discussion is based on the experience gained in developing and using Alliance, a groupware application that allows several users distributed on a network to cooperate for producing documents in a structured way.
"In addition to the local editing functions made available on each site by a structured editor, the application provides such basic functionalities as management of document storage and remote access to distributed documents. It offers services for managing user interaction and cooperation, for dynamically distributing roles to users, for showing documents through multiple views, for controlling the consistency of modifications, for updating automatically all copies of shared documents, etc.
". . .important research activity is carried out in the field of structured documents. Researchers are interested in structured documents and standards such as SGML or ODA have inspired other research activities. Cooperative editing and structured documents share many common issues and it seems natural to take advantage of the advances in these two fields to define new tools that allow users to cooperate in producing complex structured documents. This chapter addresses the problems posed by the combination of cooperative editing and structured editing. It shows that the structured approach to document representation may be very fruitful in the context of cooperative applications. The results presented here are based on the experience gained in developing and using Alliance, a structured cooperative editor, which has been built on top of the Grif editor. Alliance has been designed as a cooperative application that allows several users, distributed on a network, to work on shared structured documents. The current version of Alliance can run both in a local area and in a wide area network. This is a result of the two phases in the development of the application. In the first phase, we only focused on the main features of cooperative structured editing (document fragmentation, sharing entity, editing roles and group awareness), and intentionally we did not pay attention to problems regarding document access and storage management. So, the document management layer for this first approach was only based on the Network File System (NFS). This choice is well suited to cooperative editing in the field of office work, where users are linked by a local area network."
Available in Postscript format on the Internet: ftp://ftp.imag.fr/pub/OPERA/doc/AllianceBook.ps.Z [mirrored copy, November 1995].
"Abstract: This article presents the Griffon groupware application which allows several users to cooperate for editing shared documents. Users access the application through a local area network of individual workstations and servers. The application provides such basic functionalities as management of document storage and access to distributed documents. It also offers high-level functionalities for managing user interaction and cooperation, for dynamically distributing roles to users, for editing documents in a structured way, for showing documents through multiple views, for controlling the consistency of modifications, for updating automatically all copies of shared documents, etc."
["Résumé]: Cet article présente l'application coopérative Griffon qui permet à plusieurs utilisateurs d'éditer collectivement des documents partagés. Les utilisateurs accèdent à l'application par l'intermédiaire d'un réseau local composé de stations de travail individuelles et des serveurs. L'application fournit des fonctions de base telles que la gestion du stockage des documents et l'accès aux documents distribués. Cette application offre de plus des fonctions de haut niveau concernant la gestion de l'interaction et de la coopération entre utilisateurs, la distribution dynamique des rôles, l'édition structurée des documents, la perception des documents selon des vues différentes, le contrôle de la cohérence des modifications, la mise à jour automatique de toutes les copies des documents partagés, etc.
Available on the Internet in Postscript format: ftp://ftp.imag.fr/pub/OPERA/doc/RR93griffon.ps.gz [mirrored copy, November 1995].
Abstract: A number of standards exist to facilitate the interchange of electronic documents between different computer systems. Though they each have their place and have proved very useful, none has reached the level of generality and completeness required to ensure an exchange of information without loss, especially in round-trip interchange. This paper takes a look at four well-known interchange formats (DIF, DCA, SGML, ODA) and compares the ways they handle the same sample document.
Abstract: "Consleg Interleaf is an example of an SGML application that is used in a production environment. On a daily basis, operators use the application in order to provide lawyers from the European Community with the most accurate information on the existing legislation. As such, it is an application that illustrates how the SGML concepts can be applied in order to obtain a sophisticated document handling system."
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML User" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Summary: Several members of the W3C XML WG (Working Group) are interviewed by D. C. Denison: "Members of the W3C's XML Editorial Review Board talk about the 'road to XML': its history, breakthroughs, the participation of Microsoft and Netscape, and the work that remains."
Summary: "SGML (the syntactic basis for the TEI) is clearly the most useful system for very general document processing available today, and the TEI is generally acknowledged to be the most fully worked out application of SGML to the needs of academic projects, far better for research purposes than (say) HTML. On the other hand, the ubiquity of HTML leaves TEI users in the position of having to translate into HTML to deliver texts. This is more useful than not distributing texts at all, but imposes serious limitations on all kinds of processing and use. [...] XML, a project of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is in many ways a computing humanist's dream: it creates a stripped-down version of SGML suitable for use on the Web: XML is simpler to parse than SGML, enabling lightweight, inexpensive software of all kinds. At the same time, XML documents are fully SGML compatible: all valid XML documents are also valid SGML documents, and can be processed by conventional SGML systems.
This talk with discuss the background and design characteristics of XML, including its related parts XLL and XSL. It will also discuss some implications of XML for TEI users and for the TEI itself, and some common threads linking XML to the TEI, including many specific ways in which TEI work has influenced XML."
The extended abstract for the document is available online: http://www.stg.brown.edu/webs/tei10/tei10.papers/derose.html; [local archive copy]. See the main database entry for additional information about the conference, or the Brown University web site.
Summary: The SGML FAQ Book: Understanding the Foundation of HTML and XML is similar, but not quite the same kind of thing as an online FAQ or `Frequently Asked Questions' list. It addresses questions from people who already actually use SGML in some way (including HTML authors), and people who are about to use it. It deals mainly with issues that arise when using SGML in practice. . . The questions discussed in The SGML FAQ Book are repeatedly heard by people who make their living serving the SGML community." [from the publisher's online summary]
For further details, see the following online documents: (1) Detailed Table of Contents (including the list of "Questions" answered in the book); (2) Endorsements from SGML experts; (3) Publisher's description. See also: "The SGML FAQ Book" - details on personal web page of Steve DeRose.
Reviewers who served as referees included, in part: Sharon Adler, David Barnard, Anders Berglund, Michael Brown, Robin Cover, Harry Gaylord, Debbie Lapeyre, John Lavagnino, Chris Maden, Eve Maler, Gavin Nicol, Liam Quin, Peter Sharpe, Mackenzie Smith, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, B. Tommie Usdin, Eric van Herwijnen, and Wayne Wohler.
See also: the promotional blurb and the Table of Contents on the KAP server; [mirror copy, June 11, 1997].
"Finding aids are the next logical step in progressing from information about the form of documents, through information about documents, to document themselves. At all these stages what the computer can do with data depends most importantly on the model applied to the data. A simple facsimile of a manuscript or other object is useful, but does not enable qualitatively new processing, just as a microfilm copy of a card catalog is useful, but not revolutionary.
"In designing new model for electronic data it is important to consider whether traditional models such as the relational database really fit. In examining several basic properties of relational data versus documents in general, it becomes clear that the fit is questionable. Newer technologies are needed, and new design questions need to be researched and solved.
"SGML provides a generic way of representing certain models about document structure, and of representing documents given those models. Because it is a formal international standard and has achieved very wide and diverse use, it is a safe long-term vessel for important data. As with many standards, a monastic approach to SGML enhances portability, durability, and interoperability." [from the document Conclusion]
Available online in HTML format: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/AboutLibrary/Projects/BFAP/derose.html [mirror copy]. For more on the conference, see information on the Sunsite WWW server. For more information on Finding Aids, see the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) entry.
HyTime is an ISO standard (ISO/IEC 10744) and is an application of SGML for hypermedia and other time-based documents. See the bibliography entry for the HyTime standard. A very readable introduction to SGML is provided in Chapter 3 of Making Hypermedia Work (pages 35-61), "Overview of SGML." See the online file with the Foreword, Preface, and Table of Contents here. It is also via FTP from world.std.com. Or, link to David Durand's page for details, including the text of the Foreword, by Andy van Dam.
See also: "Making Hypermedia Work" - details on personal web page of Steve DeRose. See also: (November 1995) Changes in Second Printing of Making Hypermedia Work "October 7, 1995". See: review of the work in CHUM by Gregory Murphy; review of the book: Dale Waldt, "Is it high time for HyTime?" <TAG> 7/9 (September 1994) 1, 9-10. [reviewed also Harry Gaylord?]
Abstract: "This paper describes the TEI Guidelines' approach to describing hypertext features, the rationale that went into the design of the tagset, and the range of features included in the Guidelines. It also discusses the relation and integration of TEI markup with the HyTime standard (ISO 10744)."
Abstract: "The article is a reply to various commentaries on the article by Steven J. DeRose et al. (1990). The author defends the development of a model for text representation in computers called the ordered hierarchy of content objects (OHCO). He looks at the objections raised by Selber, Hill, and Dicks with respect to the OHCO model: 'formatting information is not supported; images cannot be treated as parts of documents; hyperlinking capabilities are not supported.'
These criticisms are based on a confusion of the capabilities of three different things: a document model (such as OHCO), a specific formal representation scheme (such as SGML), and computer processing systems (such as an SGML viewer or editor). Clearly the OHCO model does support formatting information: by organizing and explaining the connection of formatting information and content objects. Similarly, it supports images, whether as internally unstructured content objects or as structured content objects. Hyperlinking requires only the relaxation of the graph theoretic constraints. SGML as a representation scheme can handle all these cases, although particular SGML implementations may be good or bad at doing so. Recent SGML-aware software products are also fairly good at supporting formatting, images, and hyperlinking, in the sense in which software systems support such things. There is no basis to say that the OHCO model itself, or an SGML representation of text as an OHCO, precludes formatting information, rendering of images, or implementing hyperlink semantic."
This article appeared with four others in a special issue of JCD which focused upon 'the OHCO model of text [ordered hierarchy of content objects]'. The Journal of Computer Documentation (JCD) is a quarterly publication of the Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Systems Documentation [SIGDOC], published by the Association for Computing Machinery. Editor in Chief: Tony R. Girill, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and University of California.
Abstract: "The way in which text is represented on a computer affects the kinds of uses to which it can be put by its creator and by subsequent users. The electronic document model currently in use is impoverished and restrictive. The authors agree that text is best represented as an ordered hierarchy of content object(s) (OHCO), because that is what text really is. This model conforms with emerging standards such as SGML and contains within it advantages for the writer, publisher, and researcher. The authors then describe how the hierarchical model can allow future use and reuse of the document as a database, hypertext or network."
Note the publication of a special issue of The Journal of Computer Documentation featuring discussion of 'the OHCO model of text' as presented in a 1990 article by Steven J. DeRose, David G. Durand, Elli Mylonas, and Allen H. Renear -- all affiliated with Brown University at some point. OHCO stands for "ordered hierarchy of content objects." This special issue includes two articles by the Brown team (one reprinted) and three commentary articles. Articles included are: "What is Text, Really?" by DeRose, et al; "Further Context for 'What is text, really?'", by DeRose et al; "First Commentary. The OHCO Model of Text: Merits and Concerns", by Stuart A Selber; "Second Commentary. Markup Meets the Mainstream: The Future of Content-Based Processing", by Charles A Hill; "Third Commentary on 'What is Text Really?'", by R. Stanley Dicks. Note that the formulations about text as 'OHCO' have been revised in at least two publications by the authors since the 1990 paper: "Refining our Notion of What Text Really Is: The Problem of Overlapping Hierarchies," presented at ACH-ALLC 1992 (Renear, Mylonas, Durand), and "What Should Markup Really Be? Applying Theories of Text to the Design of Markup Systems," presented at ALLC-ACH '96 (Durand, Mylonas, DeRose).
Abstract: "The way in which text is represented on a computer affects the kinds of uses to which it can be put by its creator and by subsequent users. The electronic document model currently in use is impoverished and restrictive. The authors argue that text is best represented as an ordered hierarchy of content object[s] (OHCO), because that is what text really is. This model conforms with emerging standards such as SGML and contains within it advantages for the writer, publisher, and researcher. The authors then describe how the hierarchical model can allow future use and reuse of the document as a database, hypertext, or network."
The article is reprinted from Journal of Computing in Higher Education 1/2 (Winter 1990) 3-26.
This article appeared with four others in a special issue of JCD which focused upon 'the OHCO model of text [ordered hierarchy of content objects]'. The Journal of Computer Documentation (JCD) is a quarterly publication of the Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Systems Documentation [SIGDOC], published by the Association for Computing Machinery. Editor in Chief: Tony R. Girill, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and University of California.
Abstract: "The SGML standard supports logical documents composed of a possibly complex organization of many entities. It is not uncommon to want to view or edit one or more of the entities or parts of entities while having no interest, need, or ability to view or edit the entire document. The problem, then, is how to provide to a recipient of such a 'fragment' the appropriate information about the context of that fragment in the original document that is embodied in the part of the document that is not available to the recipient.
"The goal of this resolution is to define a way to send fragments of an SGML document -- regardless of whether the fragments are predetermined entities or not -- without having to send everything up to the part in question. The delivered parts can either be viewed or edited immediately or accumulated for later use, assembly, or other processing. This resolution addresses the issues by defining: (1) exact constraints on what portions of an SGML document may constitute fragments to be supported by this resolution; (2) the set of information needed to allow for successful parsing as well as for viewing or editing of a fragment in a useful and important set of cases; (3) the notation (i.e., language) in which this information will be described; (4) some possible mechanisms for associating this information with a fragment."
"Issues involved with the possible 'return' of any such fragment to the original sender and the determination of the possible validity of the 'returned' fragment in its original context are beyond the scope of this Resolution. While implementations of this Resolution may serve as part of a larger system that allows for 'fragment reuse,' the many important issues about reuse of SGML text are beyond the scope of this Resolution."
Summary: "This is the Resolution defining the SGML Open fragment context specification language allowing for the interoperable interchange of fragments of valid SGML documents."
Copies of the Technical Resolution are available on the Internet from the OmniMark FTP server and other locations: (1) The PostScript version, [mirror copy]; (2) HTML format, [mirror copy]; (3) the package, containing the SGML version, DTD, SGML declaration, markup declarations for tables, and catalog; [mirror copy]; (4) The SGML version.
Abstract: "The SGML community has had increasing interest in the capability of assembling document displays from multiple referenced parts. Elements in such documents reference other elements or objects that are retrieved on the fly and transparently displayed much as if their content had actually occurred inline. This is commonly called 'dynamic document assembly' or 'boilerplating' and traces back to the older notion of transclusion (dynamic data inclusion). Transclusion has previously been very theoretical, but is becoming less so daily, especially with the coming use of XML. This presentation looks at reasons for transclusion, possible problems, and some proposed solutions."
"XML rules out most of the constructs that make it hard to implement transclusion with SGML, such as asynchronous entities and document portions that can parse differently depending on where they are referenced. This makes truly dynamic transclusion processors more feasible. Also, XLL provides a powerful convention for referring to subtrees of documents on the fly (based on TEI extended pointer notation), making it very easy to transclude very specific document portions as required for quotation. XLL also provides transclusion semantics as a specific property that can be set for individual links: a link can be declared to require on-the-fly retrieval and display, or inline display on demand, or new-window display on demand, and so on, thus allowing all the needed combinations of behavior."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Expert" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
A version of the document is available online in HTML format: http://www.oreilly.com/people/staff/crism/transclu.html; [local archive copy].
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
The SGML community has had increasing interest in the capability of assembling document displays from multiple referenced parts. Elements in such documents reference other elements or objects that are retrieved on the fly and transparently displayed much as if their content had actually occurred inline. This is commonly called 'dynamic document assembly' or 'boilerplating' and traces back to the older notion of transclusion (dynamic data inclusion). Transclusion has previously been very theoretical, but is becoming less so daily, especially with the coming use of XML. This presentation looks at reasons for transclusion, possible problems, and some proposed solutions."
"XML rules out most of the constructs that make it hard to implement transclusion with SGML, such as asynchronous entities and document portions that can parse differently depending on where they are referenced. This makes truly dynamic transclusion processors more feasible. Also, XLL provides a powerful convention for referring to subtrees of documents on the fly (based on TEI extended pointer notation), making it very easy to transclude very specific document portions as required for quotation. XLL also provides transclusion semantics as a specific property that can be set for individual links: a link can be declared to require on-the-fly retrieval and display, or inline display on demand, or new-window display on demand, and so on, thus allowing all the needed combinations of behavior. [...] We believe that no one solution can be proposed that will handle all forms of transclusion, but that there exists an excellent opportunity for user agents to distinguish themselves, as XLL makes transclusion an integral part of our Internet lives."
Available online in HTML format: http://www.oreilly.com/people/staff/crism/transclu.html; [local archive copy].
Abstract: "The earliest computer-aided hypertext systems were built in the 1960s, and (unlike some of the most popular later systems) fully integrated it with their hypertext functionality. Brown University's FRESS was the first hypertext system to run on commercial hardware and OS. It actually handled complex documents better than non-hypertext systems, and so was used as a publishing system as well as a collaborative hypertext environment for teaching, research, and development. FRESS had considerable support for document structuring and markup, affording separation of structure from formatting and hypertext semantics. It also provided a variety of coordinated views and a very powerful conditional-structure and view-specification mechanisms that suited it for many tasks still considered hard today: dynamic document assembly, structured information retrieval, and on-the-fly customization of even very large documents for the user, display device, and context. This paper gives an overview of FRESS's design approach especially with regard to its treatment of markup and structure; it discusses some ways that document structures differ from other familiar information structures; and argues that a sophisticated model of document structure is necessary to realize fully the potential of hypertext."
Summary: "Current hypertext (or synonymously 'hypermedia') systems have revolutionized our computing environment. Nevertheless some of the most widely used ones lack some effective capabilities provided in first generation systems such as Augment and FRESS, particularly with regard to document structure. In this article we have discussed the particulars of FRESS, and the markup, structure, and hyperlinking models it implemented, in hopes of showing how they can still benefit hypermedia systems today. . .These examples, we think, show that an effective hypertext system need not sacrifice display sophistication or support for document structure in exchange for linking, but can and should exceed the capabilities of non-hypertextual word processors. Systems that do not support large structured document nodes, and integrate that support fully with their linking models, cannot do this effectively."
"Current hypermedia system designers would do well to re-examine the insights of first-generation systems and take advantage of features that have proven useful (of course improving on them as well). Some of the innovations of the earliest hypertext systems remain available or are even standard now; among these are Undo and explainers, both introduced by FRESS. But others equally useful are now rare (at least in commercial as opposed to research systems). These may include bidirectionality, typed links, keyword-based content and link filtering, alternate views, links that control their destination context and formatting specifications, and virtual and structured documents and links. Only when hypertext systems address the full range of complexities of real-life documents and their structures, will it be practical to bring pre-existing literature into the hypertextual world, or to build fully effective hypertext systems even for information newly crafted for that world."
For other articles in this issue of MLTP, see the annotated Table of Contents.
Abstract: "A number of new and enhanced tools for producing SGML documents with word processors have appeared since mid-1994. How do these products succeed in bringing structuring functionality to applications which have only limited support for logical hierarchies? What makes them different from dedicated SGML editors? The following sections discusses the approach taken by packages for two popular word processors in the MS-Windows environment: WordPerfect and Microsoft Word."
The document is available online in HTML format: "Authoring SGML documents with word processors" [mirror copy, text only, December 1995]. For further details on the 1995 Conference and BeLux, see the contact information for SGML BeLux.
"Abstract: In many SGML-related applications, cross-conversions of documents between different DTDs is necessary. In principle, SGML has given the ownership of the data back to the user and has relieved him of the dependence from particular document data formats. Alas, real-world SGML applications tie him back again to the particularities of one or another vendor's tool and scripting language. The processing model defined by DSSSL holds the promise that also this yoke will be cast away."
Available online in HTML format: "The SGML Tree Transformation Process: Processing SGML documents in an absolutely standardised way"; [mirror copy]. For further information on the conference, see: (1) the description in the conference announcement and call for papers, and (2) the full program listing, or (3) the main conference entry in the SGML/XML Web Page.
[On the tagging strategy:] "The development of the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary on Compact Disk (Oxford University Press 1992) provides a precedent for distinguishing specific types of information in a large, complex, and sometimes inconsistent lexicon like the TLL. The developers of the OED CD-ROM used a grammar to process text so that it could be organized for efficient search (Berg, Gonnet, and Tompa 1990). Grammars have been used in computer science for many years to define and check the syntax of programming languages (Aho and Ullman 1977). The developers of the OED CD-ROM created a similar type of grammar that defined the syntax, or structure, of the OED and its articles (Berg, Gonnet, and Tompa 1990; Kazman 1986). The grammar was used to parse and transduce the text of the OED in order to distinguish and tag individual articles and the different types of information contained within each article. . . Following this line of research, the developers of the electronic TLL plan to create a grammar for the TLL. The TLL grammar will attempt to define the syntax of the TLL and its articles, delineating the different types of information within a TLL article by taking advantage of the typographical conventions used in the printed TLL and the clues offered by certain keywords, abbreviations, and punctuation."
Available online from the USASK WWW server [mirror copy, December 1995]. The online version "is an HTML version of a poster presented by Ann DeVito at the meetings of the ACH/ALLC (Association for Computers and the Humanities/Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing) in Santa Barbara, California, 11 - 15 July 1995. The HTML document was created on August 27, 1995." See the TLL main entry in this database, or the direct link to the Electronic Thesaurus Linguae Latinae project.
"Abstract: Increasing competition has forced many industries to cut production costs, to reduce the time needed to bring products to market and to better satisfy customer needs. Furthermore, the internationalization of business has caused an enormous increase in the need for communication and information exchange. This article describes how standardized structured documentation, when considered as an integral part of a company's information system, can help meet these challenges and in so doing provide competitive advantage."
Abstract: "In their 1990 article 'What is Text Really?' DeRose, Durand, Mylonas, and Renear (1990) define text as an ordered hierarchy of content objects or OHCO. They contend that the essential parts of a document are the content objects and that other aspects of the text, such as its appearance, are superficial and transient rather than essential. After examining alternative models of text, they then proffer SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) as the best medium for supporting OHCO text. The benefits that the authors attribute to SGML are undeniable. It allows for advantages in authoring (including alternative document views, use of various tools, and enhanced collaborative work), production (including consistency of formatting and electronic manuscripts), and turning text into a database (including enhanced information retrieval and special processing possibilities). As the authors point out, these advantages have led many agencies and corporations to adopt SGML as their standard text development and storage environment. Despite the advantages, the author takes issue with DeRose, Durand, Mylonas, and Renear on the grounds that OHCO and SGML do not allow for all of the ways that authors author and that readers read. The underlying premise of the argument is that text is far more than an ordered hierarchy of content objects, that a complete definition must allow for graphical elements and for the graphical nature of the text itself; i.e., its appearance. The author concludes with a brief case history describing an attempt to move toward SGML in the corporate environment."
The article is a response (commentary) on the publication of DeRose (et al), "What is Text, Really?" reprinted from Journal of Computing in Higher Education 1/2 (Winter 1990) 3-26.
This article appeared with four others in a special issue of JCD which focused upon 'the OHCO model of text [ordered hierarchy of content objects]'. The Journal of Computer Documentation (JCD) is a quarterly publication of the Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Systems Documentation [SIGDOC], published by the Association for Computing Machinery. Editor in Chief: Tony R. Girill, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and University of California.
Abstract [from RR [Richard Rinehart]: "A concise, informative introduction to the benefits of applying the SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) standard for electronic publishing and document management. The article will be a useful resource for any type of organization considering its document access needs; the writers cite examples of successful applications in the museum world for illustration of how SGML can work in the real world."
Spectra: see the WWW Page.
Abstract: "There has been much discussion as well as work accomplished worldwide regarding the adoption of SGML as a methodology for the development of information standards in the pharmaceutical industry. This paper describes an example of how SGML-based tools that exist today were used to produce a complete Supplemental New Drug Submission for the Health Protection Branch, Health Canada. The submission was SGML browser-based, running on a Windows 3.1 PC. The system allowed the reviewer to navigate and comment electronically on all the textual documentation, clinical data and Case Record Form images required for the submission, and compiled all comments and relevant information collected during the review process for use in the reviewer's report. Summary tables were linked to the underlying clinical data from the browser so that tables could be verified, the underlying database queries modified and analysis redone as the document was reviewed.
"A paper-based submission was made simultaneously to Health Canada to satisfy legal requirements. The electronic version used the same SGML-based instance as the paper, ensuring a one-to-one correspondence between the paper and the electronic data. This made possible, for example, the generation of Hytime hyperlinks for the table of contents and other cross-references required for navigation of the electronic version without any additional authoring or manual markup. The relative ease with which the source documents were taken from the authoring to the publishing phase greatly facilitated the incorporation of late changes to the submission resulting from electronic and manual in-house review.
It was concluded that the adoption of electronic document management and review techniques early in the submission development process greatly enhanced the quality of the final document which also eliminated unnecessary review delays at the government agency due to missing or inaccurate information. Although a government approved DTD was not available for this project, it is clear that the ability to be able to parse a document before submitting it for review is enough justification alone for using SGML in the standardization of information of this type."
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML Case Studies" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Abstract: "Document control is an issue for organizations that use SGML/HTML. The prevalent approach is to apply the same techniques to document elements that are applied to full documents, a practice that has led to an overlap of electronic publishing and document management. The article lists requirements for the management of SGML/HTML documents."
"Abstract: This paper presents the problems which arose in the use of TEI P3 encoding of medieval Slavic manuscripts by philologists. An encoding scheme for manuscript description was created within the frameworks of a joint American-Bulgarian project entitled 'Computer Supported Processing of Medieval Slavic Manuscripts'.
"During the work on the project, we had to train specialists for data entering using SoftQuad Author/Editor(tm) v. 3.1. Eight philologists who were both SGML- and TEI-unaware entered about 200 manuscript descriptions. Since this was the first SGML-oriented project implemented in Bulgaria we were not able to use any previous local experience. In addition to this, the problem area for which the TEI P3 encoding scheme was developed (medieval manuscripts) resulted in a high level of complexity for the work our specialists had to perform.
"We present our experience in the training, data entering and editing stages of the project, as well as some characteristics of the work performed (time required, error rates and user satisfaction). As a result of our work, half of the specialists entering manuscript data suggested improvements to the SGML encoding scheme used - a fact which we consider to be one of the most positive feedbacks of the project, and a clear indication of the acceptance of SGML by our previously inexperienced users."
Available online in HTML format: "The Use of SGML by Philologists: Experiences Gained During the Medieval Slavic Manuscripts Encoding Project", by Milena Dobreva; [mirror copy]. For further information on the conference, see: (1) the description in the conference announcement and call for papers, and (2) the full program listing, or (3) the main conference entry in the SGML/XML Web Page.
Since its publication as an International Standard in 1986, the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) has become a preferred document-markup standard within many industries. Many users have developed their own document type definitions (DTDs) that define the elements (tag sets) for their documents. However, if SGML is to become a universally accepted standard of document interchange, then a standard way of specifying formatted output and a means of producing that output will be needed.
The U.S. government's Computer-Aided Acquisition and Logistic Support (CALS) initiative selected SGML as the standard for text interchange. The output specification of the CALS standards proposed the Formatted Output Specification Instance (FOSI) as the means of formatted output specification interchange.
TEX can be used as the formatting engine to implement FOSI-based formatting. But without extending TEX, not every FOSI formatting request can be fulfilled. Conversely, certain TEX capabilities cannot be formulated in terms of FOSI characteristics. However, a FOSI/TEX-based formatting system would be a major advance towards fulfilling the document interchange needs of a growing community of SGML users.
"Abstract: The experience of an organization responsible for producing user documentation for a large number of software products is described. The company was searching for a cost-effective system to produce a CD-ROM database from the same source as the printed documentation. After significant research, it was decided that a Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)-based system was the only one that would meet the organization's requirements. Anticipating that the types of electronic documentation would change and grow over time, the company needed to be able to adapt its system to those changing requirements. The organization decided to integrate some commercial software with tools they would build because there were no complete systems on the market that met their requirements. The organization has accomplished their objective and with the system, they have produced printed documentation and 4 CD-ROM releases using databases generated from the SGML system. The reasons why the organization built an SGML system and the advantages it has over other types of publishing systems are discussed."
Another "Abstract: Use of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) was found to be the most suitable standard for converting a print documentation database to CD-ROM publication, according to one publisher's experience. SGML, as defined by ISO 8879, was used to deal with structurally-coded databases by separating format from content. This method permits future changes to the database fields and allows the integrations of commercial software with custom programming. The process of authoring and producing the CD-ROMs is described."
A 'Monads dot Features Model (MdF)' for representing data in text databases is described. The model is designed to overcome some of the limitations found in other models (as evaluated): the grammar-based model of Gonnet and Tompa; the Grammar/Hypergraph model of Tague, Salminen and McClellan; containment model of Burkowski; the 'SGML-based' model constructed from an evaluation of the ISO 8879 Standard and the TEI Guidelines. The MdF model explicitly caters to arbitrary overlapping of text objects, and to text objects composed of discontiguous segments. The MdF model is incomplete as a text database model, however, lacking a data language and a type language.
This work was originally presented as a PhD Thesis, submitted to the Universiteit Utrecht.
Abstract: "FORMEX (FORMALIZED EXCHANGE) is one of the very first initiatives that adopted the SGML notation. Initially designed around the UNESCO CCF standard (COMMON COMMUNICATION FORMAT), the original FORMEX specification (1986) and its first revision FORMEX V2 supported both notations. This year, the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities EUR-OP released a new version of FORMEX V3 which incorporates more than ten years of experience in the SGML field. FORMEX V3 is based exclusively on the SGML notation and SDIF is the communication standard encapsulating the exchange of data. Though the FORMEX specification is able to support any kind of document, it has a specific target: Legal Publications. The set of tags exhibited in FORMEX V3 is highly semantic and can be combined into a wide variety of legal publications doctypes. FORMEX V3 is the basic mechanism of the EUR-OP editorial work and information exchange. The global workplace is articulated around specialised workshops, handling production, housekeeping, consolidation of law, etc. The consistency of the system is a reference database which links the different workshops logically for document production, archiving and distribution. Whenever required, images are embedded in the SGML tagging. The SGML-structure information is distributed via different media and can be targeted for different users. Workshops for authoring, translating, editing and proof-reading, indexing and cataloging, etc. can be specific systems; some high co-operative workshops are connected to more than 500 workstations. EUR-OP releases the FORMEX V3 specification as a PUBLIC tagging scheme that can be shared by many EUROPEAN and non-EUROPEAN legal and governmental publishers."
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML User" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Abstract: In 1993, The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) studied several syntaxes for interchange formats in healthcare, but excluded SGML due to resource constraints. We sought to extend the CEN report and formally evaluate the use of SGML as a message interchange format. METHODS: We followed the methodology set forth by CEN, using their example scenarios and healthcare data model. General message descriptions based on this model set the functional requirements for the interchange format. These general requirements are then mapped into SGML to see how well they can be supported. RESULTS: Results follow the CEN format, enabling a direct comparison of SGML with ASN.1, ASTM E1238, EDIFACT, EUCLIDES, and ODA (those syntaxes studied by CEN). CONCLUSION: SGML compares favorably with other syntaxes investigated by CEN. None of the interchange formats support all functional requirements. Optimal and standard mechanisms of combining different formats through a modular approach to achieve greater overall functionality requires further study.
Apparently published in the proceedings of the annual symposium:Volume 9, pages 635-639. See: http://medicine.ucsd.edu/f97/D004004.htm or American Medical Informatics Association
"I am soliciting your help to participate in the review of Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program proposals. The SBIR program provides grants of money to small business to conduct research of specified topics of interest. In this case, the technical topic of interest is the Electronic Exchange of Scientific and Technical Information among Department of Energy organizations. Explicit in the proposed technical area of interest is the use of ISO 8879, Standard Generalized Markup Language (please see the attached). It is our feeling that this group is the best qualified to review and make a determination with respect to the technical merits of each proposal. . . Funds provided by SBIR are used to support an annual competition for Phase I awards of up to $75,000 for about 6 months to explore the feasibility of innovative concepts. Phase II is the principal research or R&D effort, and the awards are up to $750,000 for a two-year period."
Available on the DOE/OSTI server or here in mirror copy.
"SGML '94 is the second in the series of annual SGML conferences that I have attended. The conference is organized by the Graphic Communications Association (GCA) and is conducted annually. This year's conference was held in Tyson's Corner, Virginia. The conference, as in previous years, has doubled in growth annually; last years conference was attended by approximately 400 people and this years conference grew to 750 attendees. I was pleased to see a decidedly Department of Energy presence at this years conference; Idaho National Energy Laboratory, Argonne, Boeing Computer Services (Hanford), Battelle (Richland) to name a few, were seen among the attendees. The hotel, and the organizers, were not quite prepared for the large numbers that attended, but handled the additional numbers with finesse." [from the Introduction]
Available online from DOE/OSTI or in mirror copy here [June 1995].
The book is written "for people who need to understand how publishing applications and publishing systems can be built around this [SGML] technology to achieve a wide variety of objectives, the most critical of which is the systematic development and maintenance and use of the enterprise's information assets." [from the Preface]
Summary: This is a technical introduction to SGML. It is aimed at those people who need a conceptual understanding of SGML and its applications in sufficient detail to begin working effectively with SGML tools and technologies, to make judgments about introducing the technology into their environment, and to direct the activities of others who are engaged in design and implementation. After reading this book, programmers will be prepared to work through the complexities of SGML as presented in Goldfarb's classic The SGML Handbook. [publisher's pre-publication description] See also description on the Prentice Hall server; [mirror copy]. See also the "Prentice-Hall SGML Series" web page.
Abstract: As database techniques are becoming more widely used in publishing and as publishers seek to utilise the growing possibilities of multimedia, there is a growing awareness of the possibilities offered by Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) as a neutral format for safeguarding content independent of proprietary hardware and software. Pindar is a service company with over ten years' experience in working with different IT projects utilising the standard and its associated tools. Three current case studies, involving technical documentation and reference publishing, demonstrate how and why SGML is becoming useful for document management outside the traditional areas of the aerospace and defence industries, where it was first developed.
"Abstract: The Davenport Group is an open forum which brings together Unix system vendors, software vendors and technical book publishers who have something at stake in the development of standards and technology for online documentation and publication. The initial efforts of the Davenport Group are focused upon the establishment of a common interchange format for online technical documentation. The Davenport Group supports an interchange format based on SGML, the Standard Generalised Markup Language (ISO/IEC 8879) and 'HyTime' Hypermedia/Time-based Structuring Language (ISO/IEC Draft International Standard 10744)."
Abstract: The first generation of online documentation systems are closed systems that bind a single body of information to the software required for delivery and access. The next generation of online documentation systems will be "open systems" developed around standards that allow information to be integrated from multiple sources. These online documentation systems will not be limited to the delivery of computer documentation but should provide a gateway to all kinds of information essential to a user, even information created by the user. This paper describes how the standardization of online documentation systems might be achieved by standardizing the information, not the technology. It describes the formation of the Davenport Group and its support of SGML, the Standard Generalized Markup Language (ISO/IEC 8879), and "HyTime", the Hypermedia/Timebased Structuring Language (ISO/IEC 10744).
The author explains in a tutorial example how to use sgmls.pl, a skeleton Perl script, with SGMLS output to generate RTF from an HTML file. The script Perl script in sgmls.pl is a general tool: it reads ESIS output from SGMLS and allows the user to insert simple (print, control) statements into the script to effect useful processing of the parsed SGML document.
The article is excerpted from the author's book, which is to appear in the Charles F. Goldfarb Series on Open Information Management: The SGML CD (a guide to free SGML software). The article discusses the use of Jade, the DSSSL engine (James' DSSSL Engine) placed into public domain by James Clark. Jade can output several formats using the style language of DSSSL: RTF, TeX, HTML, and (transformed) SGML/XML.
See the main DSSSL section and the dedicated section on DSSSL Software Tools for other information on DSSSL.
The article is part 2 of a serialized article. It is excerpted from the author's book, which is to appear in the Charles F. Goldfarb Series on Open Information Management: The SGML CD (a guide to free SGML software). The article discusses the use of Jade, the DSSSL engine (James' DSSSL Engine) placed into public domain by James Clark. Jade can output several formats using the style language of DSSSL: RTF, TeX, HTML, and (transformed) SGML/XML. This second installment explains how DSSSL might treat bitmap images, multiple header levels, bulleted lists, and enumerated lists.
The article it the third and final in a serialized tutorial article . This third installment illustrates how the user may define his/her own functions and create 'subroutines', and how a Jade/DSSSL specification may be written in manner that makes it easier to read and to maintain. See the main DSSSL entry for other information on this standard.
Free SGML software is available to create document instances and SGML processing applications, as well as to analyze complex DTDS. This article describes the origin and use of SGMLC-Lite, Near and Far Lite, the PSGML add-in to the Emacs text editor, the NSGMLS parser, Earl Hood's perlSGML tools, and the sgmls.pl and SGMLS.pm perl application development tools. This paper is excerpted from the book "SGML for Free," available soon from the Prentice-Hall Charles F. Goldfarb Series on Open Information Management."
Bob DuCharme maintains an online resource entitled "DBMS Support of SGML Files." It includes "information collected about database systems that present themselves as reasonable solutions for storing SGML data." See: http://www.snee.com/bob/sgmldbms.html
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML User" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Abstract: "Architectural forms were developed in conjunction with HyTime, but you can take advantage of them without using HyTime. As a bonus, once you get used to them, HyTime will be much easier to understand. This article describes the creation of a simple DTD based on architectural forms defined in another DTD. It also shows how to use James Clark's sgmlnorm program to process a document conforming to the new DTD, and then describes the possibilities opened up by the use of architectural forms."
"Architectural forms give you a way to base a DTD's element types on element types defined in another DTD. You can define an element type of the new DTD as being the equivalent of one in the existing DTD and then give the new one a different element type name, additional attributes, and different names for existing attributes. A processing application that supports architectural forms can then treat elements conforming to the new DTD's declarations as if they conformed to the corresponding declarations in the original DTD (also known as the 'baseDTD' or 'base architecture'). All this can be done using a base DTD designed by someone who has never heard of architectural forms. If the base DTD was designed by someone who knew that it would be used as a base architecture, the new DTD's designer has even more flexibility, potentially being able to revise the content models of the base DTD's element types."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Expert" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Further information on architectural forms processing and SGML architectures is available in the dedicated database section "Architectural Forms and SGML Architectures."
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
DuCharme's book SGML CD is now available (give or take a UPS strike [August 1997]) from Prentice Hall as part of the Charles F. Goldfarb series on Open Information Management. The book is a tutorial and users guide for some of the most popular free SGML software, all of which is included with the book on a CD. It covers PSGML, Lennart Staflin's Emacs mode for editing SGML documents, along with an Emacs tutorial for those who've never used this powerful editor (Win95/NT and DOS versions of Emacs are included on the CD); James Clarke's nsgmls and jade; Earl Hood's perlSGML DTD analysis tools; the sgmls.pl and David Megginson's SGMLS.pm perl development libraries; and SGML Systems Engineering's SGMLC-Lite development environment for creating interactive Windows SGML applications. The book also covers sources of interesting publicly available SGML documents ranging from classic literature to IRS forms. [from the author, adapted]
See the book notice form or the author's Home Page for further information. The publisher's description [partially inaccurate as of August 18, 1997] is available online. The detailed Table of Contents supplies an overview in outline form; [mirror copy]. You may also check the "Prentice-Hall SGML Series" Web page for updates, or contact Mark Taub at Prentice-Hall. The link from Amazon references an interview with DuCharme. See XML and "SGML CD" for some hints on "how you can use the software described in the book to create and process XML files."
The book was reviewed in XML Files: The XML Magazine. Also reviewed by Terry Dawson in Linux Journal Number 47, March 1998.
Bob DuCharme overviews the SGML revisions in the WebSGML Adaptations Annex (Annex K) that are relevant to the phrase "for interoperability" in the XML 1.0 specification. In section "1.2 Terminology" the phrase "for interoperability" is glossed as "A non-binding recommendation included to increase the chances that XML documents can be processed by the existing installed base of SGML processors which predate the WebSGML Adaptations Annex to ISO 8879." In particular, DuCharme elaborates upon the terms and concepts type-valid, fully-declared, fully-tagged, integrally-stored, reference-free, and external reference-free. Ducharme also summarizes other changes to SGML in Annex K which make WebSGML documents more compatible with XML documents (optional quantities and capacities, preservation of white space, multiple attribute list declarations for the same element, pre-defined entities, empty tags of the shape <empty/>, revisions to SHORTTAG. The SGML declaration itself (hardcoded in case ofthe XML) can now be given in WebSGML documents inside a declaration using a system or public identifier.
In the previous (July 1998) issue of <TAG>, DuCharme's article "SGML: Changing to Accommodate XML" addressed a number of the SGML revisions in the WebSGML Adaptations Annex (Annex K) that are relevant to the phrase "for interoperability" in the XML 1.0 specification. In this second article, DuCharme explains why the WebSGML Project is important, and speculates on the level of support that we may expect for Annex K in commercial software products. SoftQuad reportedly has plans to support WebSGML, and some products which integrate James Clark's SP (e.g., 1.3 or higher) would have support for some Annex K features.
[Provisional description] The text contains the complete official W3C XML specification, thoroughly annotated. Complete with glossary, reference tables (grammar productions), index, and '180 new usage examples'. For other description, see the author's Web site.
[January 06, 1999] Bob DuCharme's XML: The Annotated Specification is available from Amazon and should be in stores immediately (ISBN 0-13-082676-6, $44.99). This book by DuCharme, his second for the 'Charles F. Goldfarb Series on Open Information Management,' includes the entire XML Specification with paragraph-by-paragraph explanations of the spec's text, with over 170 usage examples. The book is written for both XML newcomers and for markup language people who are unfamiliar with the computer science terminology used throughout the XML specification. Although the book includes a glossary, indexes of the productions by both number and name, and background on the history of XML and the W3C, over 280 of the book's 360 pages are devoted to the specification itself. Exhaustive review by Charles Goldfarb (exhausting to both Charles and Bob) has made this book an extremely detailed, carefully edited commentary on the XML specification. See the Web site at http://www.snee.com/bob/xmlann for more information and an Acrobat file of the complete second chapter, available for download. Goldfarb writes in the volume Foreword: "In preparing XML: The Annotated Specification, Bob studied all of the three million bytes of email and scores of supporting documents that were generated during the long development effort for XML. From it, he has created illuminating commentary on every part of the W3C Recommendation, plus more than 170 new usage examples." [adapted from the author's description]
Review: "[Review of]. XML: The Annotated Specification, by Bob Ducharme." By Dianne Kennedy. In XML Files: The XML Magazine Issue 12 (February 28, 1999).
Review by Wendell Piez.
The author reports in detail on the XML Developers' Day held on Friday, March 27, 1997 in Seattle, Washington. Featured highlights include presentations by David Megginson on SAX; Naohiko Uramoto on IBM for Java; Steph Tryphonas of Microstar on SGML/XML DTD maintenance; Larry Wall on XML and Perl; Scott Parnell on "Raven" (Java-based XML editor from Xerox); Henry Thompson on the XED XML editor; Norm Walsh of ArborText on XML Styler; Guha on XML in Netscape Navigator 5.0. Compare also "Structured Editors: What We Saw is What You Might Get. [Product Roundup: A Fresh Crop of Structured Editors. Trip Report]", by Liora Alschuler; Alschuler reports on four of the editing tools demonstrated at the Seattle XML Conference (March 23 - 27, 1998).
DuCharme presents a tutorial article on the "standalone document declaration" of XML, which may appear in the XML declaration. The rationale for the standalone document declaration is explained, using some simple examples. [Note: Some questions about the design of the standalone document declaration in XML 1.0 are referenced in a document excerpting XML-DEV posts.]
The author, as <TAG>'s 'XML Correspondent', provides expanded definitions for some key terminology; definitions were reviewed by Dave Peterson. Some terms are new due to the recent ISO 8879 annexes, especially the WebSGML Adaptations Annex, ISO 8879 Annex K. Defined terms include: "character encoding, empty-element tag, fully-tagged, ISO 10646, name spaces, NESTC, PIC, PI target, type-valid, Unicode, UCS, UTF-8 and UTF-16, valid, validity constraint, well-formedness constraint, well-formed."
DuCharme explains why XML is attractive for interprocess communication, why DTDs are unnecessary for much of this work, and how the advantages of XML are being exploited in several domains. He discusses the notion of encoding a data structure schema directly within the XML-encoded data themselves.
Beginning with this issue of <TAG>, Bob DuCharme has become a regular contributor/correspondent for the newsletter <TAG>, reporting particularly on the progress of XML.
DuCharme provides an in-depth overview and critique of the book XML: Principles, Tools, and Techniques. He wishes the book it had an index, but concludes concerning it: "Overall, however, the book offers a broad range of information from the people who know XML best, and beginners and experts alike will learn from ane enjoy it."
Bob DuCharme is now special XML Correspondent for <TAG>. In this issue, he overviews the XML 'family' of languages belonging to the three phases of W3C work: XML, XLL, XSL. A simplified characterization (crediting Eve Maler) is that XML is diminutive SGML, XLL is diminutive HyTime linking, and XSL is diminutive DSSSL. With qualifications. DuCharme counsels patience at this time, early in 1998 -- give the W3C working groups time to do their design work properly.
Abstract: "A variety of healthcare communication standards (HCS) have been developed during the last decade. They have improved the interoperability and the connectivity in open hospital information systems to a large extent. They have also reduced time and efforts during the implementation of standard interfaces. However, the implementation of communication standards is still far from the expected plug and play. The two reasons which are the main cause the current drawbacks are identified -- the lack of a standardized terminology and the restricted flexibility of the currently used interchange formats. On the one hand the standardization of the terminology can not be solved by the standards development organizations. It is a general challenge for the medical informatics community. On the other hand the movement to a new interchange format can be initiated by standards development organizations. The application of SGML/XML as an interchange format for communication standards offers a much greater flexibility and adaptability to user needs than the currently used interchange formats. Concepts for a smooth change to a new direction are discussed."
Volume 48 of the International Journal of Medical Informatics was a special issue, "Standardisation in Health Informatics: Towards Global Consensus and Cooperation." Edited by G.J.E. De Moor.
Abstract: "This paper presents the result of an investigation designed to show the possibility of producing an IETM (Interactive Electronic Technical Manual) by means of World Wide Web technology. For the needs of our investigation, we used an SGML document base, relating to the maintenance of an aircraft. This base, enhanced with techniques set forth in this paper, allowed us to build a WEB browser prototype meeting IETM class 3 and higher requirements. An important point shown by our work is that the semantic richness of an SGML base can be kept and used even when using HTML (HyperText Markup Language) as a browsing format."
This paper was delivered as part of the "IETM" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
"The long-range goal of the Piers Plowman Electronic Archive is the creation of a multi-level, hyper-textually linked electronic archive of the textual tradition of all three versions of the fourteenth-century allegorical dream vision P iers Plowman."
(TEI) SGML is used in several parts of the SEENET work. For example: "The Tudor Poetry Textbase at the University of Otago in New Zealand offers one such model. When it is completed, it will incorporate some quarter million lines of Tudor poetry, all in TEI-conformant SGML markup, but with a minimal amount of apparatus and annotation. It will serve primarily as a textbase, an accurate rendering in electronic form of a complete historical corpus of poetry in machine-manipulable form. In this instance, adequacy of markup and the accuracy of its representation of the original texts will constitute its fundamental virtues." Or: "The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, which I am constructing with a team consisting of Robert Adams, Eric Eliason, Ralph Hanna, Thorlac Turville-Petre, and Mícéal Vaughan, offers yet another model for the electronic edition. In the first stage of constructing the Archive, we are creating documentary editions with full SGML markup of all the fifty plus manuscripts and early printed editions. Each documentary edition will include paleographic and codicological descriptions of each manuscript. We are recording erasures, subpunctions, and other forms of deletion; marking suspensions and abbreviations, marginal and interlinear additions and corrections to the texts, changes in scribal hand or ink or script, along with any other features of the material text we recognize as likely to be useful to students of the poem."
The document is available on the Internet as part of the official conference record: see http:/www.ucalgary.ca/~scriptor/papers/duggan.html [mirror copy]. For further details on the Electric Scriptorium conference, see Electric Scriptorium Home Page.
"Abstract: Many aspects of the Guidelines of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) are applicable to corpora and text collections, and to the texts that these contain. As the first large corpus developed using mark-up conforming to the Guidelines, the British National Corpus (BNC) is a test-bed for many TEI-developed mechanisms. This is partiicularly true in the case of the TEI header, which has three intended applications -- to describe a corpus, to describe an individual text, and as a free-standing bibliogaphic record -- all of them used by the BNC. This paper describes the application of the TEI header to the BNC. It is intended that this information should, through a description of experience on a practical project, server as a guide for those wishing to use TEI headers in the documentation and management of other corpora and collections of texts."
"Abstract: Electronic mail (E-mail) and electronic data interchange (EDI) are producing new challenges as well as opportunities for today's records managers. While E-mail is essentially a form of interpersonal communication, EDI is an inter-organizational type of communication. Because of the properties of EDI, its management falls squarely under the mandate of electronic records management. When adopted, E-mail was viewed chiefly as a substitute medium for messages of an informal nature in other media, such as the telephone. However, E-mail is no longer a medium used only for informal communication; it is a delivery mechanism for information which needs to be addressed by records managers and data processing managers. Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is of increasing interest to records managers for the management of E-mail and other types of electronic documents. SGML is a system for identifying and describing structural and contents elements of a document and for assigning tags to those elements."
Abstract: [long; get via email from John] Abstract: Attempts to encode AACR2 thus far have met with only moderate success. Three principal alternatives exist for converting AACR2: (1) create a simple ASCII file, (2) create a MARC format for AACR, and (3) use the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). It was decided by the AACR2 principals to use SGML to construct the machine-readable version. It was further decided that the file would not be issued to end users as a finished product, but rather as a source file to other developers who would be responsible for adding display and search software and, if desired, for integrating other cataloging-related products with it. In producing AACR2-e, we have tried to remain true to several fundamental principles: (1) preserve the integrity of the text; (2) support the revision process without laborious rekeying and proofing; (3) reflect the printed text accurately as regards physical layout; (4) produce future printed versions; (5) have a database structure for online versions with connections to related products; and (6) preserve sequences of rules, yet also permit linkages among related rules. An inordinate amount of time has been spent on developing the Document Type Definition, and difficulty has been encountered in the conversion of the file to SGML. The potential to make catalogers think in new ways about how to structure the cataloging code for more efficient use is the greatest contribution that the electronic AACR2 will make.
Describes the process of digitizing the AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition) and structuring it with SGML encoding. The project illustrates some of the difficulties in writing/using a DTD for a complex existing document that both utilizes and specifies particular print formatting (punctuation, spacing) as a means of encoding information. (rcc)]
"This document gives an overview of linking strategies for project CHIO. It is targeted at being able to address long-term needs for data representation, while being implementable for delivery using current technology: specifically SGML browsers running on top of the World Wide Web's data access protocols and standard browsers.
"The following proposal is based on HyTime linking protocols, my earlier proposals for the use of Formal Public Identifiers as locators and for authority control, and on Richard Light's analysis of linking for the NMAA. HyTime provides the fundamental methods for cross-linking documents, while Formal Public Identifiers provide a standard format and associated organizational framework for the assignment of unique names to intellectual resources." [from the introduction]
Available online: http://www.cni.org/pub/CIMI/www/chiolink.html (alternately: http://www-rlg.stanford.edu/chiolink.html); [mirror copy]. See also the main entry for Consortium for Interchange of Museum Information and project CHIO ["Cultural Heritage Information Online"].
"This document contains a number of types of comment, some based on the proposed changes that are only available to ISO or ISO national body members. This is also a document in flux. The current version was last updated on June 8, 1995. . . David Durand has made some additional suggestions (6/28) that provide an interesting alternative to the Annex C comments in this document."
Available online from David Durand's page [mirror copy, dated July 14, 1995, partial links], or (June 1996): [mirror copy].
After presenting a list of seven kinds of common hierarchy-breaking textual structures, the authors write: "Methods of tagging all of these currently exist in the TEI, in the form of particular tags for particular perspectives. But since we now know that the breaking of strict hierarchies is the rule, rather than the exception, it is time to determine what additional features are required from markup systems to make the formal description of such non-hierarchical phenomena straightforward. We propose that it is better to integrate the formal properties of these recurring non-hierarchical phenomena into markup systems themselves, rather than re-inventing them tag-by-tag. Their explicit representation will enable more perspicuous, explicit, and consistent descriptions of nonhierarchical tag-relationships and constraints, in the same way as the formal definitions of content models in SGML do for hierarchical documents. [. . .]"
They then define two hierarchy-breaking declarations: "(1) A declaration that the element can overlap itself, with an optional number to limit its degree of deepest self-overlap. Declaring this for an annotation element would allow arbitrarily scoped, arbitrarily related zones of a text to be marked without difficulty; (2) A declaration that the element can overlap with a particular tag or list of tags. For each tag (overlapee) that the element might overlap, there is an optional specification of whether that it is permitted to overlap the children of the overlapee. [. . .] The proposed extensions of document schemas to handle non-hierarchical markup represent the results of many years of experience with text-encoding in the humanities community. We feel that they are an important starting point for improving the quality of humanities computing tools for the next generation of markup systems."
The document abstract is available online: http://www.cs.bu.edu/students/grads/dgd/markup_abridged.html; [cache HTML, cache PDF]
See the bibliography entry for "What is Text, Really?" (1990; DeRose, Durand, Mylonas, Renear) for pointers to related articles by the authors on the quintessence of "text" for the purposes of markup. An even earlier article by Coombs, Renear, and DeRose laid the groundwork for this series of markup treatises; see "Markup Systems and the Future of Scholarly Text Processing," CACM 30/11 (1987) 933-947. On the use of a hierarchical database to model (non-) hierarchical structures, see SGML/XML and (Non-) Hierarchy."
[Excerpt]: This is a description of a small corpus linguistics project from start to (well, nearly) finish, undertaken entirely by one not particularly computationally-adept linguist. I focus not just on the end results, but also on the various options and obstacles encountered at each stage of the project. As such it illustrates in a nutshell the strengths and weaknesses of some of the current data- and text-management methodologies and tools for non-specialists. It also may provide a useful model for other linguists and linguistic anthropologists facing similar issues. . . The example of the Salar corpora suggests that it is necessary to store and present such linguistic (and/or anthropological/folkoristic) data in a variety of formats. The queryable-SGML file and/or the SGML-based database is one prototype data-analysis/management system for other linguistic corpora."
Abstract available online in HTML format: "Hand-to-Hand Wrestling with Small Linguistic Corpora", by Arienne M. Dwyer; [archive copy]
Additional information on the ACH-ALLC '97 Conference is available in the SGML/XML Web Page main conference entry, or [August 1997] via the Queen's University WWW server.
Summary: "This article is a slightly expanded version of a presentation in John Unsworth's session, "Creating Digital Resources in the Humanities," for DRH97, the conference on digital resources in the humanities at St. Anne's College, Oxford University, Oxford, England, 14-17 September 1997. The article concerns the William Blake Archive, a Web-based project supported by the Getty Grant Program and developed under the auspices of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia. The Archive's co-sponsors include the Library of Congress, Sun Microsystems, and the Inso Corp. In addition to the Library of Congress, collections that have so far contributed their works by Blake -- more than a thousand images -- include the Huntington Library and Art Gallery in California, the Pierpont Morgan and New York Public Libraries in New York, the Yale Center for British Art, the Glasgow University Library, the Essick Collection, and the Houghton Library at Harvard."
"Unlike its previous version, and unlike the other illuminated books currently available in the Archive, this copy of Thel has been tagged using SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). SGML tagging offers the Archive's users the opportunity to perform sophisticated searches, either on the text of the plates, or, more remarkably, on the content of their illustrations. Search results are retrieved and presented using DynaWeb, a product of the Inso Corporation. The text and image searching enabled by DynaWeb and the underlying SGML tagging is a powerful demonstration of the potential of electronic resources in the humanities."
A version of this article is available online in HTML format; [local archive copy]. See the main database entry: IATH: William Blake Archive, and the Blake Web site.
Abstract: "The decision to go with SGML is only the first step toward complete SGML integration. There are issues and twists that make every implementation of SGML unique. This particular project involved creating and deploying a system that handled multiple configurations of documents customized for specific clients. This presentation discusses the steps necessary to implement fully an SGML authoring environment and SGML repository given a limited budget and challenging set of requirements."
"FSI International is a capital equipment manufacturer for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The corporation has over $300M annual sales with corporate offices in [5 locations]. The Technical Communications Department is a technical writing and information coordination department for the design and sustaining engineering department of the Chemical Management Division. Our department produces technical operations and maintenance manuals for our product line as well as other technical, safety, and customer service communications. There are three direct employees, one contract employee, and two dotted-line direct employees in Hollister, California. With an annual budget of $350K for fiscal 1997, the group created 5,000 new or revised pages and 176CD ROMs. We are forecasting 5,000 - 6,000 pages and 538 CD ROMs for fiscal 1998."
This paper was delivered as part of the "User" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
The Text Encoding Initiative's Guidelines for Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange provide an essential tool for anyone involved in capturing textual information in electronic form. The TEI Guidelines, prepared over a five-year period by over a hundred members of the academic research community, demonstrate that the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) can be a powerful assistant in the service of textual scholarship. Using the TEI document type definitions, researchers can create multi-layered electronic versions of texts in any language, from any period, of any genre, for any type of processing or analysis. Such SGML texts are hardware-, software-, and application independent, and thus can continue to be used even after current generations of hardware and software are long defunct. This electronic edition, created with [EBT's] DynaText, offers many advantages over the original print edition. All cross references within the Guidelines have been converted to dynamic hypertext links. Each mention of an SGML tag is linked to a detailed glossary window. All technical terms are indexed for immediate search and retrieval. (adapted from the shipping case)
The electronic edition of TEI P3 is available on a standard CD and can be installed on any machine capable of running Microsoft Windows 3.1, or Apple Macintosh System 7.0 or later. You will need access to a machine with a CD-ROM drive for at least a few minutes, but you don't need a CD-ROM drive on the machine on which you install the DynaTEXT edition. See the published announcement for further description and complete ordering instructions.
In Europe, the DynaText version of the Guidelines may be ordered from: TEI Orders, Oxford University Computing Services, 13 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN, UK; from elsewhere in the world, orders should be sent to: C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, University of Illinois at Chicago, Academic Computing Center (M/C 135), 1940 W. Taylor Rm. 124, Chicago IL 60612-7352, U.S.A. Please use the electronic form provided. Electronic Book Technologies (EBT) may be reached at: EBT Inc., One Richmond Square, Providence, RI 02906 USA; Tel. (401) 421-9550; FAX (401) 421-9551.
Summary: "The TEI header was originally designed, not for the equivalent of cataloging, but to elicit from the scholarly creators of electronic texts the information a trained cataloger would need to create a MARC record, using the header as a sort of work sheet. This model should still be supported, but events have dramatically overtaken it. The large majority of TEI-encoded texts are created in libraries, by electronic text centers either working from scratch or converting material from other electronic forms. A second major group of TEI-encoded texts are created by large or long-term projects in literature, history, linguistics, or computational linquistics, at least some of which work in close collaboration with libraries. It is not at all uncommon for the header not to be created for, but to be created by, a cataloger, nor for a draft header to be translated into MARC and fed directly into the local cataloging system, where final adjustments are made and it is translated from MARC back into SGML and re-embedded in the document.
"This paper will examine past and future efforts by the academic library community to deal with issues related to cataloging and providing access to metadata The presenter will briefly describe to the audience just where CC:DA fits into the maze of committees, panels, boards, institutions, and task forces which comprise ALA. The main part of the paper will be devoted to descriptions of recommendations that could lead the TEI header into fitting more comfortably into the work flow of library catalogers, and some discussion of how the work flow actually does work, specifically at the University of Virginia. A brief report on other metadata formats, including Dublin Core and GILS, will also be included."
The extended abstract for the document is available online: http://www.stg.brown.edu/webs/tei10/tei10.papers/eden.html; [local archive copy]. See the main database entry for additional information about the conference, or the Brown University web site.
Abstract: "The DejaVu framework offers access to the Web as one of the facilities in a collection of software components for developing multimedia user interfaces and hypermedia applications. It provides a vehicle for experimenting with true hypermedia extensions to the Web.Our approach, which is essentially object-oriented, allows for integrating the Web in applications and vice versa, for composing a Web browser with support for sound synthesis, digital video, 3D graphics and virtual reality.
"On a software level this is realized by extending HTML to allow for embedded scripts, written in a script language that is extensible with application-defined functionality. However, in addition to this rather low-level provision for active documents, our Web browser component allows for SGML-defined document types capturing the syntax and semantics of multimedia extensions.
"This paper gives a brief overview of the various components constituting the DejaVu framework and discusses briefly the architectural notions underlying our framework. We will show how to employ these components to develop a Web browser with (client-side) support for animation, multimedia and virtual reality. By giving some examples, we will illustrate our solution to defining the (browsing) semantics of arbitrary document types by means of script-based style sheets. As a conclusion we will discuss the requirements that must be met for developing a HyTime compliant browser for the Web."
Available in Postscript format: http://www.cs.vu.nl/~dejavu/papers/bradford96.ps, or in HTML format. See also the abstract. [Postscript, local archive copy]
Abstract: The paper provides an introduction to the concepts of SGML. Text processing systems typically require additional information to be interspersed among the natural text of the document being processed. This additional information, called 'markup', serves two purposes: separating the logical elements of the document, and specifying the processing instructions to be performed on those elements. The three types of markup: procedural, generalized and descriptive, are all described. The benefits and use of SGML for descriptive markup are also outlined.
Abstract: "This paper explains the position of four ISO 'standards' (only one agreed standard, one draft standard and two draft proposals) in the area of text and office information processing. Those standards are SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), the 'Fonts' standard (Font Architecture and Interchange Format), DSSSL (Document Style Semantics and Specification Language), and SPDL (Standard Page Description Language). . . In addition, the paper relates these standards to ODA (Office Document Architecture) and places SGML and ODA in their own contexts."
See Mumford below).
Abstract: "Good quality documentation is identified by manufacturing industries as an important asset to push their products on the market. More and more companies sell their products all over the world and are requested to provide localized product documentation. In this context, controlling - through creation, translation and maintenance - the consistency of huge documentation produced in different places, on different tools by people with different skills is a real challenge. Moreover, reducing the effort of document creation and management by help of powerful software tools, will cut down the costs of complex products significantly.
"The goal of the DOCSTEP project, which is presented here, is the usage and integration of beneficial technologies and standards for product modeling, natural language processing and document management in order to improve the process of product documentation creation and management. The DOCSTEP approach is based on the integration between the product data standard ISO 10303 STEP and the documentation standard ISO 8879 SGML. It is the aim of the DOCSTEP project to develop an Authoring System where documents are based on the generic model of the product, with language independent semantic layer plus integrated tools allowing the end user to access document/product relevant information efficiently.
"The presentation shows the current results of the DOCSTEP project. DOCSTEP is promoted in the context of the Telematics Research Program (Language Engineering) of the Commission of the European Community.
Note: The electronic conference proceedings in hypertext were produced by Inso Corporation (DynaText) and by High Text (EnLIGHTeN). Information about the SGML Europe '97 Conference may be found in the main database entry.
[Later version also now available; see below] Available by FTP from Elsevier. See further in the main Elsevier entry.
Available in .gz compressed format via FTP from Elsevier. Change bars in version 2.1.1 indicate revisions vis-a-vis version 1.1.0 (April 1994). The Elsevier Article DTD itself is available from the FTP server, ftp://ftp.elsevier.nl/pub/sgml/art.dtd. See further details in the main Elsevier entry of this database. Update: Version 3.0.0 (November 1995) [mirror copy]
"Abstract: Description of computer library principles based on an SGML structured text database system. This paper identifies many benefits gained by implementing a well structured and well integrated SGML based text repository system. A library manager application (LMA) is described as the interface between the data and the users or applications."
The book is sometimes cited under the graphically-variant title: $GML: The Billion Dollar Secret. The title is explained [on the book cover]: "Discover how some of the world's leading companies are turning documents into assets...and saving billions of dollars in the process." Provisionally, see: (1) the online Table of Contents; (2) extracts from Chapter 1, and comments from the author about the book's design; and (3) the publisher's description [extracted from the Prentice-Hall promotional text]: see http://www.prenhall.com/allbooks/ptr_0132267055.html. See also the "Prentice-Hall SGML Series" web page.
A review of the book (quite favorable!) is published in <TAG> 10/9 (September 1997), written by Carla Corkern of ISOGEN International Corporation. "Chet Ensign has made easier the life of anyone who needs to sell SGML. . . Many of the sticky questions that you would have had to face when presenting your business case have been answered."
Note that Chet Ensign is also an author for the book: SGML Buyer's Guide. A Unique Guide to Determining Your Requirements and Choosing the Right SGML and XML Products and Services, by Goldfarb/Pepper/Ensign; see the bibliography entry.
[Perhaps-now-dated] "Summary: This is a series of detailed case studies of companies that have successfully deployed SGML to solve common information problems like document assembly lines that won't work because the pieces won't fit together, or products that can't get to market because an army of writers can't keep up with the changes, or support costs that are going through the roof because the published information is too complicated for the buyers to read. The goal of this book is to provide technology decision makers with the information they need to answer the question: "Why can't we just buy everyone a copy of Word for Windows?" The book answers this question, not with rational arguments, but with stories straight from the companies that have already been there."
The article contains a detailed report on the General Meeting of January 18, 1994. Major presentations were given by Debbie Lapeyre (ATLIS), [President] Cesare del Vaglio, and David Harkness (WordPerfect Corporation).
The article describes an SGML exposition held on September 19, 1995 at the McGraw-Hill building in New York City. Speakers included Chuck Myers of Frame Technology, Mark Walter of Seybold Publications, David Harkness of Novell, and Jerry Michalski of Ester Dyson's "Release 1.0." See a posting by Mary LaPlante for other details.
At Information Builders, Inc., the change to SGML has been evolutionary instead of revolutionary. The Documentation Services Group began using SGML-like markup in our text files because it solved a specific problem we encountered with our electronic publishing system. However, we gained so many additional unexpected benefits from it that we are now investigating formal SGML-based electronic publishing systems. When first encountered, SGML can look daunting. However, our approach is making the transition easy. In fact, for our technical writers, SGML is the next logical step in a process that has been going on for some time.
The first nine pages and the conclusion of this book review essay present the case for SGML/XML DTDs - despite the notion of (mere) "well-formedness" in XML. Ensign argues that the temptation to characterize XML as "SGML without the DTD" represents a misunderstanding of the intent in the XML specification.
Abstract: "Extensible Markup Language or XML, a simpler form of SGML, has introduced the concept of a well-formed document, one that doesn't need a DTD. This sounds wonderful - all the benefits of SGML without the expense or restrictions of that darned DTD. But to dismiss DTDs as arbitrary, restrictive constraints on creative freedom is to miss their role as documentation of the truly valuable parts/aspects of your content and as descriptions that enable users to build lights-out processing systems for leveraging that content. Assuming your goal is to make your content more generally useful and to make it valuable across your entire enterprise, you will quickly find that DTDs are not enemies but allies. And once you make that discovery, you'll want these two books in your library: (1) Eve Maler and Jeanne El Andaloussi Developing SGML DTDs: From Text To Model To Markup, and (2) David Megginson, Structuring XML Documents."
The document is available online in PDF format - "Structure rules! Why DTDs matter after all." [local archive copy] For other articles in this issue of MLTP, see the annotated Table of Contents.
Chet Ensign supplies a detailed report and analysis of a presentation made by Tom Gerhard of Standard & Poor's to the SGML Forum of New York, May 23, 1995. The presentation focused upon two information-delivery systems implemented at Standard & Poor's, including an SGML-based system for the newspaper Daily News.
"Abstract: One of the key advantages often cited for SGML is the ability to use a single document for multiple purposes. This article shows a practical example of a UNIX-based SGML application that used one source document to produce a printed user manual, an online edition of the manual and a context-sensitive help system." [supplied by the author]
Note: TOCs for back issues of the journal are maintained at http://www.clark.net/pub/stc/www/.
"Abstract: The integration of time dependent media into traditional documents requires a scheme to specify temporal constraints. Every multimedia system develops its own scheme. This fact leads to incompatible systems and applications. This paper argues for considering HyTime as the document model of future multimedia systems or as one the proprietary model can easily be converted to. Therefore, the problem of specifying temporal constraints is discussed followed by an introduction into HyTime's approach. Special attention is given to HyTime's separation between the logical level of media items and the level of actual storage entities which facilitates the reuse of media resources. A discussion of the temporal constraints schemes of three major multimedia systems found in literature and how they could be mapped to HyTime ends the paper."
Abstract: Multimedia documents also include time dependent media like audio and video. In contrast to traditional text documents, temporal constraints have to be determined that tell a presentation application when and for how long certain parts of the document have to be presented. The author shows how temporal constraints may be specified with HyTime. An analysis of different approaches covering the specification of temporal constraints resulted in a catalogue of relevant issues. They are explained in the context of an abstract document model. Then it is shown how each issue may be specified with HyTime introducing and explaining all necessary constructs and principles. Several HyTime encoded example scenarios illustrate the actual usage of HyTime building blocks.
"Abstract: The current interest in SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) as a strategy for standardized documentation has reasons. The article explains these reasons and gives an introduction into the basic principles of SGML. From them the typical properties of SGML like durability, vendor-independence, rigorous structuring and conformity among multiple documents become clear. It is these properties that make SGML an ideal candidate for many documentation projects. The article ends with a description of typical SGML-tools."
"Das gegenwärtige allgemeine Interesse an SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) als Konzept für standardisierte Dokumentation hat Gründe. Der Artikel nennt diese Gründe und gibt eine Einführung in die Grundlagen der SGML-Technologie. Daraus ergeben sich die typischen Eigenschaften, wegen derer bei Dokumentationsanwendungen SGML eingesetzt wird, wie Langlebigkeit, Herstellerunabhängigkeit, Strukturierung und Einheitlichkeit. Ausserdem werden einige SGML-Werkzeuge beschrieben."
Available online: http://www.dosco.de/langzeit/laz.htm. [more]
Abstract: "In the current model of electronic publishing, texts can be delivered with a cross-application approach using the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). This same level of cross-platform and cross-application delivery has not been achieved for all of the characters that these texts include. An ideal solution to the problems in character representation would be cross-platform, flexible, and durable. Many in the computing, publishing, and library worlds have suggested that the Unicode standard is the wave of the future. The following seeks to demonstrate the frailties of other options that are considered for text presentation and the success of Unicode and its sibling standards in addressing these weaknesses."
Digital Information Associate Research Project
Available online: "Options for Presentation of Multilingual Text: Use of the Unicode Standard", by Janet C. Erickson (March 14, 1997); [mirror copy]
Summary: The Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Project (ETD) was launched in 1987 at an Ann Arbor meeting arranged by UMI and attended by representatives of Virginia Tech, the University of Michigan, SoftQuad, and ArborText. Virginia Tech funded the development of a Document Type Definition (DTD) for dissertations and theses; SoftQuad's Yuri Rubinski wrote the initial DTD. The project continued at VT (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/) with collaboration from the Coalition for Networked Information, the Council of Graduate Schools, and UMI, among others.[. . .] The aim of my project is to describe a potential online library of dissertations and theses at the University of Michigan. The focus is on the SGML markup of sample dissertations using the TEI DTD and an HTML-based user interface for searching and retrieval. [. . .] In addition to the selection of a DTD and markup of the sample dissertations, this paper will address e-thesis investigations and discussions, TEI header and the ETD front matter, searching of dissertations, why e-theses should use SGML, and other important issues."
See also the database entry for the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Project. The extended abstract for the document is available online: http://www.stg.brown.edu/webs/tei10/tei10.papers/erickson.html; [local archive copy]. See the main database entry for additional information about the conference, or the Brown University web site.
[Excerpt]: "MULTEXT-EAST is a spin-off of the LRE project MULTEXT which is intended to fill these gaps by developing significant resources for six CEE languages (Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovenian) and adapting existing tools and standards to them. MULTEXT-EAST extends MULTEXT's scope to CEE languages with the following goals: (1) test and adaptation of language standards; (2) development of an annotated multilingual corpus; (3) development of morpho-lexical resources; (4) adaptation of the MULTEXT corpus tools. This paper describes the Multext-East corpus and its development, including encoding concerns, especially as they arose from the need to handle languages for which encoding practices are not yet well established. It will also report on the special encoding concerns that arose in the process of aligning parallel texts in the six languages plus English."
Abstract available online in HTML format: "Encoding and Parallel alignment of linguistic corpora in six Central and Eastern European Languages", by Tomaz Erjavec, Nancy Ide, and Dan Tufis. Presentation at ACH/ALLC '97. [archive copy]. See also the MULTEXT-EAST web site, or the TEI entry for MULTEXT-EAST.
Additional information on the ACH-ALLC '97 Conference is available in the SGML/XML Web Page main conference entry, or [August 1997] via the Queen's University WWW server. See also the main URL: MULTEXT-EAST, Multilingual Text & Corpora for Eastern and Central European Languages.
"Abstract: The Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document type definition (DTD) written using Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is used to define the parts of a World Wide Web document. Headings, subheadings, and paragraphs can be tagged, links to text, graphics, sound, and other web sites can be defined, and interactive forms can be designed, all with a text editor. Search engines that support HTML allow searchable information to be provided to the Web, and users can access and search the Web for their own needs. Nearly all document management vendors are planning hypertext browsers or tools that facilitate creation of HTML web pages. Interleaf's Cyberleaf GUI lets users convert standard text and graphics formats to HTML 2.0 and GIF. The Continuing Education for the Bar (CEB) in California uses text management tools from Open Text, which began as a spinoff from the University of Waterloo in Ontario."
Summary: The conference paper reports on a departmental project at The University of Melbourne, Computational Modelling of Syntactic Change. See Computational Modelling of Diachronic Syntax: "we are analyzing two syntactic changes in a corpus of French texts, we want to extend that study to first look at other changes, both in French and in English, and then propose a computational model for linguistic variation taking into account processing constraints. The flexibility of a model based on cognitive modelling would improve the behaviour of Natural Language Processing systems, which must learn and adapt to different language varieties."
"We have so far produced a TEI-conformant version of an Old French text,La Vie de Saint Louis, and we are in the process of adding syntactic tags to this text. Those syntactic tags are derived from the Penn-Helsinki coding scheme and have been translated into TEI. This paper addresses two issues: the development of a TEI encoding for the text, and adaptation of the Penn-Helsinki syntactic coding scheme."
N. Nicholas is a research assistant for Dr Dominique Estival, University of Melbourne. Dr Estival is carrying out a project involving analysis of syntactically-tagged corpora of Old French [...] converting the corpus from plain text to SGML-coded text, and setting up the infrastructure for syntactic tagging and parsing of the texts, including obtaining and customising SGML software, and (in the near future) preparing software to convert between SGML and the syntactic tagging system used in the Penn-Helsinki tagged corpus."
See the main database entry for additional information about the conference, or the Brown University web site.
The article describes the formation of SGML BeLux (bylaws) and design for a newsletter, SGML BeLux Newsletter, edited by Hans C. Arents. Contact: Paul Hermans, +32-16-39-02-28.
Written in the mid thirteenth century, the Speculum maius of Vincent of Beauvais is the greatest and most comprehensive of all the encyclopedias generated in the Middle Ages. For many, it represents the starting-point of all investigations of medieval and renaissance learning and culture, and as such it provides insight into thinking that was the beginning of our own on topics ranging from history to ethics. Historical studies judge the Speculum maius to be "the outstanding work of the Middle Ages. . .The Speculum naturale Translation Project seeks to provide a transcription of the Latin text, based upon the Douai version and an early incunabulum, together with an annotated translation with citations and illustrations."
The project team is using TEI-SGML (TEI-Lite), and will ultimately produce a derivative HTML version "when that markup language reaches maturity."
The document is available on the Internet as part of the official conference record: see http://www.ucalgary.ca/~scriptor/papers/ever.html [mirror copy]. For further details on the Electric Scriptorium conference, see Electric Scriptorium Home Page.
This hypertext tool for Microsoft Windows (using an Asymetrix Toolkit) links the full online text of the ISO8879:1986 SGML standard with 2348 SGML test documents. Along with this stack there is a set of extremely large files (roughly 10MB each) provided for testing purposes. They are fairly complex documents with large DTDs. The SGML documents are created in accordance with ANSI's Conformance Testing for SGML Systems 5 standard and serve to provide detailed illustration of the points being made in the standard. The tool also includes annotations that clarify some of the more esoteric areas of the standard. It contains the standard in hypertext form, along with Exoterica annotations and links to a viewable version of Exoterica's ISO8879 Conformance Test Suite. The tests are helpful as examples of the effect of particular clauses. The Compleat SGML is not intended to be a learning tool for SGML beginners, but those studying the standard should find it a very useful complement to any paper version. Price: 95.00 dollars US.
"Anyone desiring to have a full understanding of SGML content models and theory behind the construction of text markup languages should have some familiarity with the basic concepts of Automata Theory and Set Theory on which content models are based... This report an outline of some of the concepts of Automata Theory and Set Theory relevant to creating text markup languages." [from the paper's Introduction] The document is available (free) from: OmniMark Technologies Corporation, 1400 Blair Place, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1J 9B8; Tel: +1 613 745 4242; Fax: +1 613 745 5560; Email: info@omnimark.com; WWW: http://www.omnimark.com/.
The document is available online in HTML format from the Exoterica WWW server: Content Model Algebra.
The document is available (free) from: OmniMark Technologies Corporation, 1400 Blair Place, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1J 9B8; Tel: +1 613 745 4242; Fax: +1 613 745 5560; Email: info@omnimark.com; WWW: http://www.omnimark.com/.
The document is available (free) from: OmniMark Technologies Corporation, 1400 Blair Place, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1J 9B8; Tel: +1 613 745 4242; Fax: +1 613 745 5560; Email: info@omnimark.com; WWW: http://www.omnimark.com/.
This (valuable!) booklet explains the parts and syntax of an SGML declaration, and will reliably guide a novice user through the task of modifying the concrete syntax (for an SGML application which permits such modification). It includes a helpful section on "Character Sets in the SGML Declaration," and a full "Template of the SGML Declaration" for use as a 'quick reference' when writing or modifying a declaration.
The document is available online in HTML format from the Exoterica [now OmniMark] WWW server: Understanding The SGML Declaration. The document is also available (free) in paper copy from: OmniMark Technologies Corporation, 1400 Blair Place, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1J 9B8; Tel: +1 613 745 4242; Fax: +1 613 745 5560; Email: info@omnimark.com; WWW: http://www.omnimark.com/. See the SGML Declaration main entry for other help.