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Subject:Re: HTML as document source From:David Blyth <dblyth -at- QUALCOMM -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 31 Jul 1996 12:09:12 -0700
Hi all;
>> The problem is not how to print hard copy from Web pages. Rather, it's
>> much easier to figure out how to create both hard copy and Web pages from
>> material stored in the same database.
Jan Jackson commented....
>This issue of single sourcing online and paper documentation is not new
>with HTML and is more than just a matter of scrolling pages. To have an
>effective online or paper document, it has to be designed for that medium.
Agreed. BTW, I'm not claiming that this is new to HTML.
>A manual needs a toc, an index, cross-referencing and an integrated and logical
>structure.
A _hardcopy_ manual needs a toc, an index and so forth. A document
designed for a different medium is not necessarily going to use the
same set of elements.
>Hypertext is more a collection of topics which are connected by
>well-thought out and accessible links. It has a more limited page size,
>poor resolution (compared to paper), and has to work hard to replace the
>scoping function that thumbing through a manual serves.
I think we're in general agreement with eachother. As above, the essential
questions are:
o How can one use a different set of (HTML) document elements to provide
roughly the same amount of data coverage as a hard copy document?
o By what (rhetorical) process can HTML documents be created and maintained?
And must that process disrupt hard copy document procedures?
David (Just call me Cassandra) Blyth
Technical Writer & Web Site Designer
Qualcomm
The usual disclaimers apply - QUALCOMM isn't that crazy.
Blodo Poa Maximus
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