Re: Decoupling editing and printing

[Mark Baker <mbaker -at- OMNIMARK -dot- COM>]

Janet_Swisher wrote

>For
>example, in XML, the document file contains the content, with structured
>markup; the Document Type Definition defines the allowable structures; and
>the style sheet (CSS or XSL) defines how those structures are displayed.
>You can radically alter the display by substituting a different style
>sheet.

While not incorrect, this suggests much to tight a coupling between XML
markup and CSS or XSL style sheets. Yes, you can use CSS or XSL to provide
display instructions for an XML file, or at least you will be able to when
there is full and reliable CSS and XSL support in the major browsers, which
there certainly isn't yet.

But these are not the only ways, or the best ways, to transform a file with
XML tagging into something that can be displayed. We process SGML and XML
directly into HTML, RTF, and MIF to deliver to the web, winhelp, and PDF. We
use OmniMark to do the transformations. You can't even begin to go from XML
to WinHelp with CSS or XSL.

In many cases, the XML tagged file will be abstract data for which there is
not logical display format. (XSL itself is an XML based language that would
fall into this category.)

XML is a standard for describing the syntax of tagging languages.

CSS and XSL are simply proposed languages for formatting such documents.
They enter a filed already crowded with more robust and powerful
alternatives. (My money is on CSS to succeed because it is well designed and
simple. XSL will fail because it is poorly designed and obtuse. CSS will
beat if for simple formatting while better languages will be preferred for
transformations.)

---
Mark Baker
Senior Technical Communicator
OmniMark Technologies Corporation
1400 Blair Place
Gloucester, Ontario
Canada, K1J 9B8
Phone: 613-745-4242
Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- omnimark -dot- com
Web: http://www.omnimark.com

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