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author | Norbert Preining <norbert@preining.info> | 2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900 |
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committer | Norbert Preining <norbert@preining.info> | 2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900 |
commit | e0c6872cf40896c7be36b11dcc744620f10adf1d (patch) | |
tree | 60335e10d2f4354b0674ec22d7b53f0f8abee672 /info/digests/texline/no6/markup87.tex |
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diff --git a/info/digests/texline/no6/markup87.tex b/info/digests/texline/no6/markup87.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..4bff2ee279 --- /dev/null +++ b/info/digests/texline/no6/markup87.tex @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@ +\centerline{\bf \MarkUp} +\medskip +\noindent +\MarkUp\ was again organised by the Graphic Communication +Association. It is an international conference which +gives those who are involved in the development of the +Standard Generalized Markup Language (\SGML) and those who +are interested in its application an opportunity +to share the current progress +and to discuss the future. + +The venue for this year's conference was Torremolinos, +Spain. I can almost hear your reaction now! However, it +proved very worthwhile for those of us who braved the +merry quips of our colleagues about the conference being a +cover for a few days' holiday. Who would have suspected that +such excellent conference facilities were lurking in these +surroundings? + +As you may be aware the Spanish are well known for their +siesta time and following the local custom the itinery +showed quite clearly a morning session, a siesta and +a late afternoon\slash evening session (how civilised). I think +it reflects the dedication of all who took part in the conference +that in fact full use was made of the ``siesta time'' +for meetings\slash practical demonstrations\slash informal discussions, thereby +packing as much as possible into the days available. + +In October last year a milestone in the life of \SGML\ +was reached --- it received approval from the +International Standards Office and is now formally +known as {\sc iso 8879} \SGML. The first presentation +given at the conference was by Charles Goldfarb who, +together with his team, has spent ten years developing +this language. The title of his paper was +{\sl The \SGML\ Finalization Process and Application +Responsibility}. He outlined the final stages which saw the +completion of the developmental work on \SGML\ and then proceeded to identify areas in the +applications field which will need particular attention to +ensure the language is used effectively. + +Craig Smith and Dr Manfred Kr\"uger made their presentations +next. They both emphasized the importance of accurate +analysis as part of the design and creation of the document type +definitions which form the basis of any project using +\SGML. Manfred also chaired the first two days of the conference +which ensured that they ran very smoothly. + +The next session of the conference dealt with the development +of \SGML\ Applications. Joan Smith gave us the benefit +of her experience on the British Library \SGML\ document +type and also gave details of {\sc docmanusc}, a {\sc CEC} sponsored project +to promote the use of \SGML\ throughout Europe. + +Further \SGML\ applications were +described during the second day of the conference. +Christian Guittet explained how the +Project {\sc fame} (Formex Applied to Multilinguism in Europe) +used \SGML\ based coding to handle the publication of documents for the Office for +Official Publications of the European Communities. +This enables the documentation to be published in all the languages +required using the same source coding. + +John R. McFadden described the applications that the +company {\it Software Exoterica Corporation} have developed for use +by the Canadian Government. Pamela Gennusa explained +how \SGML\ has been used within the Department of Defense in the United +States to enable the technical documentation to be created +and updated in a way which meets the very tough criteria under +which DoD operates. + +An \SGML\ based project has been successfully created in England +which operates under very strict time constraints. +Tony Rowley described how {\it Pindar Infotek}, +under the guidance of Peter Howgate can handle the data +relating to the registration of patents which +is controlled by the Patents Office in Munich. + +The last day of the conference looked at the current +situation from a different viewpoint. Michael Buckingham chaired +this day of the conference and started the proceedings with +his thoughts of the potential of \SGML\ as seen by the +British. Franco Mastroddi explained the European Community +approach to electronic publishing and imagebanks, and Steven Brown +explained the principles of integrated database publishing. + +During the two days before the conference itself, +several of the delegates had attended a practical +tutorial on \SGML. They were given invaluable guidance +on the approach to using \SGML. Those of us who did +not attend the tutorial were able to see demonstrations +of two pieces of commercially available +software which allow the ``lay user'' to make use of +\SGML\ in the capture of their documentation. The demonstrators +also gave presentations during the conference to explain the technical +advantages of their products. One, Writerstation, operates on +an {\sc ibm} pc (or clone), and the other, fondly known +as {\sc fred}, runs on the Apple Mac. No doubt software packages based on \SGML\ +will become more readily available now that it has been accepted by {\sc iso}. + +Next year's conference will be held in Ottowa, Canada, +on 23rd--25th May 1988, and I am sure by then there will be several +more products being demonstrated. + +\rightline{\sl Geeti Granger, John Wiley \& Sons Ltd} |