Re: tag markup going away?

[mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM]

David Mitchell (mitchell -at- solar -dot- sky -dot- net) writes:
>I think that any tagging language gets in the way of writing.  When
> I work in a markup language
>(usually IPF) I try to do my writing at one time and my tagging at another.
> Otherwise, I end up saying to myself,
>"Oh, I know the tag is this, but what is the syntax?"  Then I look up the
> syntax and my train of thought is interrupted

Once you become familiar enough with the tag language, this problem disappears.
You mentioned that you find RTF more intuitive than IPF: trust me when I say
this is not a global truth.  Am I right in thinking you learned RTF before IPF,
and are more familiar with it?

I tag directly in IPF without problems.  I wouldn't touch RTF without a WYSIWIG
editor, or at least a manual and a pot o' coffee by my side.

In general, I prefer WYSIWYG editors to markup languages.  However, there
are definitely some advantages to markup languages.  If you have multiple
output media for your text, then WYSIWYG can be damagingly misleading.

I'm not sure how much the various HTML viewers differ from one another.  I'd
be wary of using WYSIWYG unless you're confident of your user group, and
your editor's ability to simulate their various viewing conditions.

FWIW, I'm in the unenviable position of writing a doc with two hardcopy output
formats and two online output formats.  For me, WYSIWYG is a pipe dream (or
an overnight four-way formatting run).

Later,


Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not IBM's.