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RE: TECHWR-L: XML & the future of tech writing (topic from last w eek) LONG
Subject:RE: TECHWR-L: XML & the future of tech writing (topic from last w eek) LONG From:david -dot- locke -at- amd -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 1 Nov 2001 11:23:08 -0600
There are two big difference between SGML and XML. First, SGML was standardized by the vendors before a market existed. The standardization effort was meant to build a market, but it also created a lack of competition. Second, SGML was created for documentation purposes and XML was created for programming purposes. This shows when we look for XML-based TW tools.
There is a bigger lesson here for TWs, SGML failed, because if focused on documentation, and XML succeeded, because it didn't. In other words, money will get spent on things other than documentation. A clear business case has not been built for documentation. Documentation in relationship to SGML includes many more things than the documentation TWs create. I don't see this changing in the future.
All the effort to single source is based on the idea that a company can fill the checkbox without spending more money. Or from a more financial perspective, we can spend even less money on doc than we have in the past. Or from a customer perspective, the vendor can push more acquisition costs off on customers as negative use costs. The thing that will save us will happen when customers push back. They already editorials in Business Week about bad doc.
David Locke
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