[docbook-tc] FW: [xml-doc] Reuse and Docbook

[Michael Smith <smith@xml-doc.org>]

I haven't yet had a chance to read through all of the attached
message, which was posted to the xml-doc mailing list, but I'm
forwarding it relates to some of the dicussions about online help
authoring and topic reuse:

 * discusses creating reusable topics using (or abusing, maybe) the
   <abstract> element:

     When using the DocBook DTD, there are a number of options one can
     consider implement an element which can be used in any level of
     the document hierarchy. One could define a new element and
     specify that it can appear at any level in the document
     hierarchy. Or, one could use an existing DocBook element that
     meets this requirement and coopt it for this new purpose. One
     such element is <abstract>. If a team is willing to live with a
     DTD that does not include the functional notion of an abstract,
     the <abstract> element can be used to meet the need to achieve
     structural independence. Reusable topics can be wrapped with
     DocBook DTD element <abstract>. Because this element can appear
     at any level of hierarchy, it is a perfect title-less "wrapper"
     that allows topics to be reused almost anywhere in any DocBook
     DTD document
  
 * discusses creating creating 'knowledge bases' (and sorta defines
   HTML Help as a kind of knowledge base) and 'navigation maps' from
   DocBook source marked up using <olink:

     In the SiberSafe navigation map format, <olink> syntax is defined
     almost in the same manner as in DocBook DTD: its targetdocent
     attribute has to contain the name of an existing unparsed entity
     that contains the topic to be associated with the navigation map
     node. However, DocBook defines the processing of nested <olink>
     elements as being undefined. SiberSafe defines this semantics as
     providing hierarchical relationships between topics in the
     KnowledgeBase

     Every SiberSafe navigation map node is an <olink> element that is
     associated with a particular reusable topic and may contain other
     <olink> elements that will define subordinate topics.

And this, near the beginning of the document:

   Though SiberSafe is DTD-neutral and can work with any DTD in terms
   of its content management functionality, most of SiberSafe
   publishing drivers shipped with the product are designed for
   publishing DocBook -compliant XML documents.

   In general, we recommend DocBook as an off-the-shelf DTD that will
   satisfy 80% of typical technical documentation development
   requirements and can be easily customized to meet the
   business-specific ones.

An HTML version is also available:

  http://www.siberlogic.com/docs/recommended_information_architecture.html

 --Mike

--- Begin Message ---

• From: Frank Tremblay <frank@siberlogic.com>
• To: xml-doc@yahoogroups.com
• Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 09:31:37 -0400

We have had to address the issue of how teams can achieve reuse while 
using DocBook DTD.  Our recommendations for an information architecture 
that facilitates reuse is available in the form of a white paper at:

http://www.siberlogic.com/docs/recommended_information_architecture.pdf

The separation of content and structure is central to the proposed approach.

Frank Tremblay
SiberLogic Inc.
www.siberlogic.com


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-- 
Michael Smith, Tokyo, Japan    http://sideshowbarker.net
マイク

Danger is a good teacher, and makes apt scholars. So are disgrace,
defeat, exposure to immediate scorn and laughter.

  --William Hazlitt