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+\centerline{\bf BCS-ep}
+\smallskip\noindent
+The BCS Electronic Publishing Specialist Group's meeting of
+December 5th was concerned with publishing standards, and in
+particular with Standard Generalized Markup Language (\sgml{}), Open Document
+Architecture (ODA) and Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistic Support
+(CALS), the acronyms for which are frequently quoted, not always with a clear
+understanding of what they are about.
+
+The first speaker of the day was Professor David Barron from the University
+of Southampton on `Why use \sgml{}?', although perhaps `What is \sgml{}?' is
+really what he discussed. He began by reminding the audience that Electronic
+Publishing is not just Desktop Publishing, that is, in spite of all the hype
+there is a place for non-\wysiwyg\/, that is procedural, systems (although,
+of course, the two do not have to be mutually exclusive). Professor Barron
+then gave a brief explanation of the development of GML at IBM and of MarkUp,
+the two precursors of \sgml{}, together with some details of the ISO working
+groups and a summary of what \sgml{} is. Rather he stated what \sgml{} is not,
+once he had explained the principles of generic markup. \sgml{} is not a
+language -- it is a metalanguage -- and \sgml{} is not a formatter, although
+it specifies how coding systems written according to the rules of \sgml{} can
+be parsed and parsers can be written to output files in such a way that
+they can be input directly into formatters.\looseness1
+
+Professor Barron then explained the significance of the Document Type
+Definition (DTD) and went through a simple DTD describing the meaning of
+the coding. Finally he showed how the power of \sgml{} could be used in a
+project like the OED and how it is invaluable when either transferring
+documents between different systems or producing a range of documentation
+in a single format or related range of formats. For
+those who missed this talk and would like a relatively straightforward introduction to
+\sgml{}, Professor Barron has published a paper which is similar in content to his
+talk in {\sl Electronic Publishing: Origination, Dissemination and Design} (1989)
+2(1), 3--24.
+
+The second talk was on `The Text Encoding Initiative' (TEI). Lou Burnard
+of Oxford University Computing Services
+explained what this is. TEI is essentially an aid to
+scholarship and covers aspects outside those considered by \sgml{}, such as
+those concerned with textual analysis. TEI is not really concerned with
+coding for publishing; it is concerned with the representation of
+already-published texts, for example what actually appears on the page,
+both its content and representation. However, it is not always possible to
+know in advance what is to be described, so the standard \sgml{} DTD
+formulation is not flexible enough unless the DTD can be violated. Lou
+Burnard finished by describing some of the practical problems: the lack of
+software; the lack of success of previous standardization efforts in this
+area; and finally the lack of public awareness.
+
+Stephen Downie, Secretary of the \sgml{} Users' Group and previously of
+Unixsys UK Ltd, gave a rather different introduction to \sgml{}, by pointing
+out that when data and text are input the uses to which they may be put are
+not always all known (as TEI illustrated very aptly). If a text is input
+according to \sgml{} conventions and the DTD has been written properly, then
+the text can be used subsequently for uses which were not envisaged when it
+was originally input. Pathways give new meanings to data.
+
+Stephen Downie then went on to describe the use of \sgml{} in producing the
+Official Journal of the European Community (although in fact no actual
+issues have as yet been produced). The principal problem which has had to
+be solved is the production of nine editions in nine languages, but with
+synoptic pagination. Input is now carried out using the SoftQuad \sgml{}
+Author/Editor (on which a DTD has been written at Pindar Infotek using the associated
+Rules Builder). Using a specially written DSSSL (Document Style, Semantics and
+Specification Language), the documents are converted to SoftQuad {\tt
+troff}, using which all text heights are measured on the first run. Then
+using the \Unix\ utility {\tt awk} a master list is produced which is used in
+the final pagination run. There have been problems, as might be expected:
+producing the DSSSL has been very complex; the journal rules had not
+previously been clarified; US software (as usual) does not concern itself
+with accents and non-latin character sets; and finally, although both
+SoftQuad {\tt troff} is up to the task and \sgml{} reduces the complexity of
+the problem, high programming expertise is required.\looseness1
+
+CALS, Judi Morrison of Interleaf explained, is a program to acquire and
+manage weapon systems information more efficiently. At present 96\% of
+manuals are not computerized, one in four contain errors and it takes up to
+20 months to make corrections -- and the cost is phenomenal. In addition
+10\% of the cost of a weapon system is paperwork. CALS was therefore
+developed to try to save money, reduce development times and improve
+quality. CALS therefore affects almost everybody eventually, in that
+contractors and subcontractors to the military purchase materials and
+expertise (including software) from other industries, and by 1990 all
+proposals to the Department of Defense have to be CALS-conforming.
+
+Of course there are many aspects of CALS, but the documentation aspects,
+which include \sgml{} for text and various graphics standards such as CCITT
+Group 4 (as Fax), IGES (International Graphics Exchange Specification) and CGM
+(Computer Graphics Metafile), are probably the most currently important. The final aim
+is to create a single database which can be accessed by both military and
+contractors. Whether this will actually happen remains to be seen and there
+are bound to be problems of security as well as of a technical
+nature.
+
+After lunch (which through an interesting bureaucratic mistake was
+different from usual!), Patrick Hull and John Dixon of Deuce Systems
+discussed more detailed aspects of CALS, in particular all the various
+standards involved, who produces them and what they mean. It is difficult to
+summarize what was said, but the two speakers made it very clear how complex
+the field is and what a challenge is there for those involved.
+
+In neither of the talks on CALS was there any discussion of what quality of
+weapon systems means in real terms, but it was clear that defence (or
+defense) and military applications have ramifications far beyond the
+immediately obvious.
+
+The final talk of the day was from John Stratton of the National Computing
+Centre and was on The Open Document Architecture (ODA). This is another
+ISO standard which is like \sgml{} but not like \sgml{}. It grew not from the
+world of publishing and computer text processing and programming, but more
+from the world of ECMA, the European Computer Manufacturers Association, and
+was initially concerned (as is probably obvious from the name) with Open
+documentation. The aim was to be able to provide open exchange of
+documents, either in a fully formatted way or in a form which can be edited
+and reformatted. ODA therefore considers a document in terms of both its
+structure and its content or, put another way its logic and its layout. The
+logical view is similar to that provided by \sgml{}, while the layout view is
+in terms of blocks, pages, page sets etc. In addition there are document
+management attributes and standard ways of handling graphics.
+
+In summary, a day full of acronyms, but most people probably came away
+feeling that they understood at least a few of them and the concepts
+behind them.
+
+\rightline{\sl David Penfold}