Re: Conditional text processing
Does anyone know of a text-processing application
(besides FrameMaker) that supports conditional
processing to permit client-specific versions from a
single source? Preferably XML-based, but supporting
printed as well as web-based output.
Here are some more obscure options that haven't already been mentioned:
Some of the heavyweight XML content management systems, such as
Astoria Software and ConteX by Live Linx, claim such abilities. I
realize that these systems are a bit more than mere "text-processing
applications." I'd love to try one of these systems, but my level of
content reuse doesn't justify the expense. But I can read about them
and dream.
If you don't mind a little programming, you could roll your own. A
while back, I worked with a homegrown text preprocessor, then used
Ventura publisher to format the output. The nice thing about this
approach is that you can add whatever functionality you need: "if this
is product variation A for client Y and today's date is after October
1, 2006 and file J does not exist, then set this variable and exclude
this text..." It's rare to see features like macros, or even "if not"
conditions, in popular products, but I find them essential.
Open source options: The DITA Open Toolkit appears to support DITA's
built-in conditional processing attributes. If you don't mind your
source files being in something other than XML format, and you're
working in a Linux environment, you might also take a look at yodl.
Paul
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References:
Conditional text processing: From: alfred wild
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