Re: XML and efficiency

[Sean Wheller <seanwhe -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

--- Goober Writer <gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> 
> > A potential client creates sw for a rapidly
> growing
> > customer base. They 
> > customize their doc for each customer, which
> > requires tons of conditional 
> > text, and my guess is that this will soon become
> > unwieldy. They currently 
> > use FM and RoboHelp. Would XML improve their
> > efficiency? Why? How? 
> 
> XML is not a wonder elixer. You don't apply it and
> watch cool things happen. You need to analyze the
> situation and see if using XML might be beneficial.
> So, to answer your question more directly: Maybe.

Once you have identified that XML is for you. Then it
still takes time to realize the benefits.
Implementation is not overnight, especially if you
have lots of legacy. You also need training and
handling of change management. Then there are the bugs
and the problems. Some will be bugs and some will just
be your good selves not understanding.

If your project is long (time) and you have complex
issues such dealing with multiple audiences or
platforms, then you may well be able to start the
implementation.

If either or both of the above are a problem. Then I
suggest, hang back on actual implementation. Do that
planning.

> 
> > I have read through the archives and the
> recommended
> > articles, and I 
> > understand the basics of how XML works (tags,
> > structure, etc.), but I don't 
> > understand why or how XML improves efficiency. I
> > just don't understand the 
> > advantages of using XML. 
> 
> Well, XML is a term that is usually used (to a
> fault?)
> to describe structured information processing and
> control using data tagged with XML markup. There's a
> lot more to "XML" than just XML. You have XSLTs,
> schemas, and perhaps DTDs, EDDs, and more, depending
> on how you implement XML into your workflow and
> infrastructure.

The efficiency of XML is best realized in large
publication environments. The actual benefits vary
depending on the pubs environment and the nature of
the technology being documented. Some areas where
efficiency may be realized, include:
- Collaborative Authoring
- Portability
- Single-Source
- Conditional Text
- Content Reuse
- Translation
- Maintenance Automation e.g Dynamic Gloss, Dynamic
Index, Dynamic Bilio.

The transition to XML does not by itself just switch
these benefits on, rather it will enable them if you
require. For example: Collaborative Authoring is best
managed under a system such as CVS (Concurrent
Visioning System). Combined with the platform
independent nature of XML, this will enable authors or
contributors on any platform to edit documents in a
revision controlled, blame-annotated environment.

HTH

Sean Wheller 

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