RE: Future XMLers (was document management and xml)

[garret -dot- h -dot- romaine -at- exgate -dot- tek -dot- com]

Ed tossed out the following bait:

<Who else out there is moving a documentation group to
<the XML standard, and how are those folks making the
<migration from supporting RTF to XML? Anyone
<banging their head against their keyboards yet? 

My group is currently about to pilot an XML-based content management system.
We're planning on using Word for content authoring, then we'll use
BladeRunner to save that content as XML. We hope to synch up with a product
from Vignette called StoryServer to sling out web pages. Long-term,
Interleaf's Quicksilver release may save some of us from using Word daily,
as it will be XML-compatible.

Our goal is to identify content that is re-used across multiple documents,
especially the many varieties of marketing collateral. We have information
that is published from Quark in paper form, then re-purposed to the web site
and also in a CD-ROM-based catalog. Publishing from a database would enable
us to make changes once, and separate format from content.

XML seems like the way to go; it's a standard whose time has come. SGML
looked too complicated and unwieldy, and since we were already an Interleaf
shop, comfortable with tagging and styles, BladeRunner seemed like a good
choice. However, since I'm waiting for hardware and nervous about all the
changes this system heralds, yes, I'm banging my head on the space bar
occasionally.

Garret Romaine
Tektronix, Inc. (but not necessarily speaking for them)
garret -dot- h -dot- romaine -at- tek -dot- com