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Re: SGML vs XML
On Tue, Jul 30, 2002 at 01:43:54PM -0700, Paul Grosso wrote:
> At 17:35 2002 07 30 +0200, Jirka Kosek wrote:
> >Trevor Jenkins wrote:
> >
> >> > There's a suggested workaround here [4], [5].
> >> > [4] http://www.dpawson.co.uk/docbook/styling/profiling.html
> >> > [5] http://www.kosek.cz/xml/dboscon/profiling/frames.html
> >>
> >> Thanks for those links. I lost them in a recent system failure. But this
> >> "profiling" technique is, I believe, an obfuscation and that's something
> >> that working on SGML has taught me to eschew. It has it's place but not in
> >> the depths of a 500+ page manual.
> >
> >It works for documents with virtually any length. And there is also one
> >advantage -- if you want conditional processing you are not forced to
> >learn new syntax (SGML conditional sections) you just use attribute with
> >some value.
>
> I admit I haven't read the refs, but relative to marked sections, there
> are limitations to using elements/attributes for profiling.
>
> If the DTD requires exactly one title per chapter, there is no way using
> element/attribute "profiling" that you can have two alternatives for the
> title depending on the profiling, because that won't be allowed by the DTD.
>
> With marked sections (organized so that only one of the marked section
> keyword parameters evaluate to INCLUDE at any given time), you don't have
> this problem.
Actually, there is a workaround for this in XML using
the <phrase> element. You have one title element
but put two phrase elements in it, which are profiled.
<title>
<phrase role="foo">My Foo Product</phrase>
<phrase role="bar">My Bar Product</phrase>
</title>
Just make sure your profiling works or you get
both titles!
--
Bob Stayton 400 Encinal Street
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