+1 to a cloud-based editing solution that supports both browser-based editing (for lightweight interactions) and rich clients for deeper interaction.
It would make enforcing OASIS formatting rules, metadata requirements, etc. much easier. And it would be much easier to transition when those rules evolve.
I also agree with Michael that it should not be a requirement that all browsers be supported, just enough options so that their is a reasonable set of choices across platforms.
"Spec as app". It's a refreshing new way of looking at it.
=Drummond
Co-Chair, OASIS XRI & XDI Technical Committees
On Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 8:59 AM, Michael Priestley <> wrote:
Are there platforms on which neither
browser is available?
I'm not sure if/when the editor will
become available on other platforms, but it seems to me like requiring
installation of a specific browser is a lower bar than requiring installation
of a custom toolchain. I have to have both installed myself just to deal
with the requirements of different web conferencing software.
Michael Priestley, Senior Technical
Staff Member (STSM)
Lead IBM DITA Architect
http://dita.xml.org/blog/25
From:
Mary McRae <>
To:
Michael Priestley/Toronto/IBM@IBMCA
Cc:
""
<>
Date:
04/23/2010 11:49 AM
Subject:
[chairs] Re: A hosted solution for specification
editing?
Hi Michael,
For starters it appears that the only browsers
supported are IE and Firefox.
Mary
On Apr 23, 2010, at 11:33 AM, Michael Priestley wrote:
If OASIS provided a web/hosted solution for authoring specifications and
producing various outputs, would that solve the problem of custom tooling?
Would that be of interest beyond just the DITA TC?
Normal users would edit the content directly, or edit in a word processor
and then copy/paste into the editor. The editor would enforce common structural
requirements and prevent inconsistent formatting. Expert users could take
the content offline and work in the XML editor of their choice.
That would give us the strengths of an XML tool chain for managing reuse,
creating multiple formats, providing structural and presentational consistency.
But without the weaknesses of an XML tool chain in requiring expert authors,
custom tool installations, or extensive training.
The question is not meant to be hypothetical - the technology exists today
and is being used in similar scenarios. But we can't use it with OASIS
unless they host it - otherwise we'd be storing and working with content
outside of OASIS, which would break the rules. I'm willing to investigate
whether we could work with OASIS to make this available for spec development,
if there's broad enough interest.
For a sense of the editing interface, you can take a look at an editor
vendor's demo here:
http://xopus.com/demo/dita
This is preliminary support, so it's slow to load a topic the first time
you open one with a specific type. You can add elements using the [+] dropdown.
Michael Priestley, Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM)
Lead IBM DITA Architect
http://dita.xml.org/blog/25
