Transcript Seybold-Boston 2001 Presentation

XML Tools
Seybold-Boston 2001
Jabin White
Executive Director, Electronic Publishing Services
Harcourt Health Sciences
Jabin White
Our Topics
• Introductions
• What is XML?
• Overview of tool types, including samples
from each category
• The “people” issues
• “War Stories” -- lessons learned
• Conclusions
Jabin White
Who Am I?
• Started as Editorial Assistant, then DE
• Learned SGML in 1995 at Mosby
• Moved to Williams & Wilkins in 1997, merged with
Lippincott-Raven in ‘98 -- started “front-end” initiative
• Unbound Medicine in 2000 as Content Specialist -developing content for use on Palm, Web, anything
• Harcourt Health Sciences in November, 2000, as
Executive Director, Electronic Publishing Services
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What Is Harcourt Health Sciences?
• Publishes under the imprints of Mosby, W.B.
Saunders, and Churchill Livingstone
• Global operations, including Philadelphia, St. Louis,
New York, London, Edinburgh
• Publish content for health care professionals -doctors, nurses, allied health professionals
• Wide variety of books, journals, periodicals,
electronic products (MD Consult)
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What is XML
• eXtensible Markup Language
• A set of rules that allow content creators to create
their own markup tags, apply those tags, and share
them with others
• A subset of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup
Language)
• More powerful than HTML because someone (Tim
Berners-Lee) made up all the tags you can use in
HTML
• “Document Typing” is powerful, because you can
target tags to your specific content needs
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How XML Came About
• SGML was being used, but was “too
hard”
• Ease of HTML results in explosion of
web
• Companies try to make HTML do things
that Berners-Lee never intended it to do
• “Dynamic” HTML diverged into
Microsoft version and Netscape version
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How XML Came About (cont’d)
• XML is a result of W3C effort to standardize
on extending HTML tags
• Announced as development effort in Boston
at SGML ‘96
• Announced as “recommendation” in
Washington at SGML/XML ’97
• Telling that SGML/XML ’97 became XML ‘98
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Markup Languages
SGML
XML
HTML
Standard Generalized
Markup Language
EXtensible Markup
Language
HyperText
Markup Language
Most complex
Most powerful
Most flexible
Bridges gap between
SGML and HTML
More powerful than HTML,
not as complex as SGML
Tags defined for you
Cannot add own tags
Tags used for "display"
An International Standard
Used for
"Open Information
Management"
Related standards are.
moving target. Meant
for content delivery
on the web
THE language of
the World Wide Web
Hardest
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Easiest
Jabin’s Shopping List
Other Markup
Languages
SGML/XML
<list>
<item>Bread</item>
<item>Milk</item>
<item>Bananas</item>
<item>Beans</item>
</list>
<list type=grocery>
<grain>Bread</grain>
<dairy>Milk</dairy>
<fruit>Bananas</fruit>
<veggie>Beans</veggie>
</list>
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The goals of XML’s Designers
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XML shall be straightforwardly usable over the Internet.
XML shall support a wide variety of applications.
XML shall be compatible with SGML.
It shall be easy to write programs which process XML
documents.
The number of optional features in XML is to be kept to the
absolute minimum, ideally zero.
XML documents should be human-legible and reasonably clear.
The XML design should be prepared quickly.
The design of XML shall be formal and concise.
XML documents shall be easy to create.
Terseness in XML markup is of minimal importance.
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From W3C XML page
Who said this?
• “When we looked at what was happening with e-commerce a
few years ago, it was clear that what was needed was a
completely new set of technologies that would help companies
do business online in new ways, and improve the performance
of their existing business processes. XML is the foundation for
that. … We’re betting the company on XML and what it can do
for businesses and consumers.”
• Bill Gates, Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corporation
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Overview of XML Tools
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DTD/Schema creators
Stylesheet creators
XSLT Processors
XML Editors
– Different “classes” of editors
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DTD and Schema Creators
• Emacs
• Excelon Stylus
• XML Spy
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XSL(T) or Stylesheet Editors
• XML Spy
• XML Cooktop
• Emacs (with Xslide)
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XSLT Processors
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Saxon
MSXML
Xalan
XT (MS Java and JVM versions)
Sablotron
Infoteria
Oracle
Unicorn
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XML Editors
• Structured Editors
– Xmetal, XML Spy, Epic, Excelon Stylus, XML Pro
• MS Word Plug-ins
– WorxSE, I4I’s S4/Text
• Post editing conversion tools
– Inera’s eXtyles (see Lucas Hendrich’s
presentation)
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Data Conversion
• There’s nothing like a good conversion
vendor
• “When” you convert is a personal decision –
there is no “one size fits all” answer
• Analyze fiscal and workflow impact at
different stages of production cycle
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When to Convert?
• In general terms, the earlier, the better
• Human beings doing markup will always provide
smarter tagging than machines
• Costs absorbed during “traditional” editing process
• More timely delivery of final files to web
• Greater file flexibility allows publishers to take
advantage of technology for peer review, proof
review, etc.
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Decisions, Decisions
• Decision to move tagging upstream in the
publishing cycle must be an individual one
• A business decision, not a technology
decision
• The more information, the better
– By its nature, SGML/XML is a very “open”
community
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Look inward
• Examine current tools in use
• Examine *how* they are being used
• Strive for consistency across organization (although a
purist’s view of XML means that the toolset does not
matter)
• Keep end users’ needs in mind
• Show users the benefits of using consistent,
structured tools
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Flexible Publishing Engines
• If you are dealing with XML, anything is possible with
stylesheets
• If not, each different output requires different $$$$
• If you have a lot of flexible output requirements,
makes argument for media-neutral publishing
stronger
• Can you really predict all data outputs 3-4 years into
the future?
• Apache, Cocoon, JSP Demo
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Editorial & Production
Traditional “wall” must come down for
SGML/XML to be effectively entered on
front end of publishing cycle
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Who Tags?
• Production has and always will drive *format* driven
tagging
– <Head>, <Para>, <List>, etc.
• Editorial, working with authors, should drive intelligent
markup
• The closer to the authors you can get, the better
– Please stop laughing
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Authors,
Front-end
Marketing,
Customers
Assist Editorial
in defining tag set
Application
Support
Not “tech support.”
Calls for unique skill
set.
DTD, template design,
DTD maintenance
XML Expertise
Editorial
XML
Turns Publishing
MS over
to production,
leads definition
of tag set
Content
The “roadmap”
to intelligent
content. All parties
must participate.
DTDs
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Format-level
tags using
structured tool
Production
Assistance
in defining
Electronic
tag set,
advocate for Publishing
market-driven
electronic products
Top-level
management
Recognition that “SGML
button” does not exist
War Stories
• Failure: Re-engineering nightmare
• Success: Drug reference conversion
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Stories from the Front – Failure (ReEngineering Nightmare)
• 25-journal typesetting group working in Quark
• Needed to get SGML output
• Had structured editing tool to supply SGML into
Quark
• Needed to “keep” SGML codes in tact throughout
pagination process
• Tried to use tool to hide SGML tags within Quark,
then maintain them on output
• Too much technology, not enough thought about
workflow
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Stories from the Front – Success (Drug
Reference Conversion)
• Drug reference post-converted into SGML for
previous edition
• Needed to update and make pages
• Trained staff of 2 editors on structured SGML editing
tool
• Close “application support” throughout the process
• Delivered high-quality, semantic SGML on schedule
• Pages composed and electronic product derived from
same files
• Electronic product shipped with book
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Conclusions
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People issues matter more than technology issues
Tools are getting better … much better
Plenty of help available
Don’t fall victim to “analysis paralysis,” but take a
close look (or have someone else take a close look)
at your organization
• It’s a marathon, not a sprint!
Jabin White
Thank You
• Questions?
Jabin White