Hey I am an academic! Be nice.
I think the only academic who would say something like that is Bob Glushko. :-)
--
Carlos Evia, Ph.D.
Director of Professional and Technical Writing
Associate Professor of Technical Communication
Department of English
Center for Human-Computer Interaction
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061-0112
(540)200-8201
On Jan 16, 2016, at 2:40 PM, Richard Hamilton <> wrote:
Never be ashamed of being an academic. We need all the academics we can get.That said, I still haven't found a definition for semantic granularity, so I'm afraid I can't help you communicate the concept:-).A google search turns up academic articles and books but no plain definition (at least on the first page or two), and wikipedia doesn't have the term, nor does a search find it in any other place on wikipedia. I think there's an opportunity for some academically inclined person (hint, hint) to create a new wikipedia topic:-).But, more seriously, is the concept important to the audience for a press release for DITA? I think there are plenty of more important, and accessible, points you can make (and have made already).Best regards,Dick-------XML PressXML for Technical Communicatorshttp:// Jan 16, 2016, at 11:26, Kristen James Eberlein <> wrote:"Semantic granularity" ... <Hangs head in shame/>Yes, my academic roots are showing.How can we communicate the same concept in a more accessible way?Best,KrisKristen James EberleinChair, OASIS DITA Technical CommitteePrincipal consultant, Eberlein Consultingwww.eberleinconsulting.com+1 919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)On 1/16/2016 2:03 PM, Richard Hamilton wrote:Hi Eliot,I see your point on compliance vs. conformance. Makes sense to me.I'm not wedded to my words in the rest of that paragraph. My only concern with Kris's wording was the use of the term "semantic granularity," Seems like it's an awfully academic term for a press release.Best regards,Dick-------XML PressXML for Technical Communicatorshttp:// Jan 16, 2016, at 6:03, Eliot Kimber <> wrote:I like the first sentence--I think that captures the essence ofspecialization pretty well. I'm not as happy with the rest of theparagraph--I think Kris' is better with respect to reuse andinteroperability.Also, "compliant" is the wrong term. One complies with laws andregulations, one conforms to standards. So the the correct term would be"conformant with" or "conforming to ".Cheers,E.----Eliot Kimber, OwnerContrext, LLChttp://contrext.comOn 1/15/16, 8:20 PM, "Richard Hamilton" <> wrote:The copy editor in me says, please don't say "most unique":-). How aboutthe following?"DITA is unique among XML grammars because it supports specialization,"...Also, what is "semantic granularity"? I think that will go right past thelikely audience for this release (it went right past me:-). How aboutsaying something like the following?"DITA specialization enables practitioners to create new elements fromexisting elements, making it possible to support an organization's uniqueinformation structure, enable more precise semantic search, and providebetter guidance for authors. Content created using a DITA specializationremains compliant with the DITA standard, and output processors canunderstand and process that content. In addition, such content can beeasily shared between organizations, increasing interoperability."Best regards,Dick-------XML PressXML for Technical Communicatorshttp:// Jan 15, 2016, at 12:38, Tom Magliery <>wrote:I see that re-use is already mentioned in the rest of the pressrelease. Here's a suggested rework of your paragraphs below.³The most unique feature of the DITA standard is specialization,² saidKristen Eberlein, chair of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee. ³DITAenables practitioners to create new elements from existing ones in orderto increase the semantic granularity. For example, a section element canbe specialized to represent more specific types of sections such as³Introduction,² ³Main point,² and ³Conclusion²; this enables moreprecise semantic searching and better guidance for authors.²³Done correctly², Eberlein continued, ³Output processors always willunderstand the specialization hierarchy a section is always a section,after all and be able to apply general processing transformations.Together the re-use and interoperation possibilities of DITA allow greatcost sharing and cost reductions.²From: Kristen James Eberlein [mailto:]Sent: Friday, January 15, 2016 11:39 AMTo: Tom Magliery; Eliot Kimber; : Re: [dita] Sound bite for the OASIS press releaseThe press release needs to go to Carol by next Tuesday. It also willinclude quotations from sponsor companies, such as IXIASOFT, Comtech,etc.It probably should not be longer than two paragraphs.Tom, I'll send you the draft press release off-list; it's currentlymarked OASIS Confidential.Best,KrisKristen James EberleinChair, OASIS DITA Technical CommitteePrincipal consultant, Eberlein Consultingwww.eberleinconsulting.com+1 919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)On 1/15/2016 2:31 PM, Tom Magliery wrote:In fact I would say that interoperability is far more germane to thetopic of specialization being emphasized here. If reuse is alsoimportant to highlight in this blurb, I think there needs to be someverbiage that calls attention to the topic-based architecture and theconref/keyref capabilities. This is perhaps less "unique" to DITA and Idon't know the overall gist of the PR, so I don't know if you want thator not.magFrom: [mailto:] OnBehalf Of Eliot KimberSent: Friday, January 15, 2016 9:35 AMTo: Kristen James Eberlein; : Re: [dita] Sound bite for the OASIS press releaseI would add "and interoperation" to "the ensuing reuse possibilities":"the ensuing reuse and interoperation possibilities"Interoperation, with or without reuse, is an important anddistinguishing feature of the DITA architecture.Cheers,E.----Eliot Kimber, OwnerContrext, LLChttp://contrext.comFrom: dita <> on behalf of Kristen JamesEberlein <>Date: Friday, January 15, 2016 at 11:17 AMTo: dita <>Subject: Re: [dita] Sound bite for the OASIS press releaseHow about the following:³DITA is more than flexible, it¹s specializable,² said KristenEberlein, chair of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee. ³The standard isunique; it enables practitioners to specialize from existing elements inorder to increase the semantic granularity. For example, consider a verysimple document. A section element can be specialized to represent morespecific types of sections such as ³Introduction,² ³Main point,² and³Conclusion²; this enables more precise semantic searching and betterguidance for authors.²³Done correctly², Eberlein continued, ³Output processors always willunderstand the specialization hierarchy a section is always a section,after all and be able to apply general processing transformations.This is unique to DITA, and the ensuing reuse possibilities allow greatcost sharing and cost reductions.²Best,KrisKristen James EberleinChair, OASIS DITA Technical CommitteePrincipal consultant, Eberlein Consultingwww.eberleinconsulting.com+1 919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)On 1/14/2016 1:15 PM, Kristen James Eberlein wrote:Carol Geyer has sent me a draft press release. It includes thefollowing paragraph:³DITA is more than flexible, it¹s specializable,² said KristenEberlein, chair of the OASIS DITA Technical Committee. ³The standardallows specific semantics to be introduced for specific purposes withoutincreasing the size of other XML grammar files.² <PLEASE EDIT LIBERALLY>I think we can improve this. Thoughts?-- Best,KrisKristen James EberleinChair, OASIS DITA Technical CommitteePrincipal consultant, Eberlein Consultingwww.eberleinconsulting.com+1 919 682-2290; kriseberlein (skype)---------------------------------------------------------------------To unsubscribe from this mail list, you must leave the OASIS TC thatgenerates this mail. Follow this link to all your TCs in OASIS at:https://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/portal/my_workgroups.php---------------------------------------------------------------------To unsubscribe from this mail list, you must leave the OASIS TC thatgenerates this mail. 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