Rowland, Larry wrote:
>Perhaps part of the confusion is from a misunderstanding about DocBook;
>DocBook is not a low-level language. TROFF (and NROFF and GROFF) are
>all low-level typesetting languages. The macro packages provide the
>level of abstraction necessary for efficiently producing documentation.
>The ROFFs themselves are almost like "machine code."
>
>DocBook is a high-level, structured, semantic markup. It is already
>performing the same class of operations that things like the mm and man
>macro packages do for the *roff languages (and frequently providing an
>even higher level of abstraction). With a half decent syntax driven
>editor there is little need for additional macros; instantiating a new
>element populates it with any necessary children and positioning the
>cursor inside an element provides a description of the content model
>(permitted elements).
>
>People working in high-level markups are not as likely to feel the need
>for the macro packages, since the language itself provides much of the
>semantic abstraction that the macro packages provide in lower level
>languages.
>
>It is worth the time to study the examples provided for the higher-level
>elements in "DocBook: The Definitive Guide," to see how the pieces go
>together. Another productive exercise is to get a good XML editor and
>experiment with the structure yourself: start with book or chapter or
>article and create a sample document similar to those you are thinking
>about creating. Look at things like procedures, examples, variablelist
>and table to see how the pieces work together. With structured markups,
>understanding the hierarchical structure relationships is key.
>
>
>
It's possible, I'm going back to reading again. I have had enough
response from this list now, to make me think my basic architectural
idea might be right, but I need to spend at least SOME more time on
docbook. Right now, it seems too huge, to be a directly useful tool
(which is what I wanted to find a way around by using an artificial set
of elements (implemented in a set of xslt macros, or what I think of as
macros). I'm convinced now that most of the original complaints I heard
were because some folks with less of a programming ouotlook
misunderstood me (or I provoked it, since our two backgrounds are too
different, I guess).
I'll admit that the purpose of the macros in troff is somewhat different
than the problem I wanted to correct; in troff, it was to organize more
higher-level commands. In docbook, I think of it as allowing me to see
a smaller set of more often used commands.
Anyhow, I need to read more, definitely. I'm beginning to be worried I
might be getting close to asking folks to do my work for me, and that
scares me, I would be VERY embarrassed at that idea.
That came to me from some of Per Bothner's comments, though he didn't
say it directly..
