RE: DOCBOOK-APPS: Best Practices

[Sean Wheller <swheller at bigpond dot net dot au>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Juan R. Migoya [mailto:jmigoya at arrakis dot es]
>
> I have been forced (yes, sounds strange) to implement some solution(s)
> to allow people in
> the company write documents that could be easily (?) translated
> to XML.
>
> Well, due to the lack of time I had to make it run, and being
> unable in this short time to discover if I would be capable of
> customizing some
> programs like Frame Maker, I took the quick approach and choose Word,
> which is the text processor all in my company use.
>
> Although there is a long way before we reach the items you mentioned,
> I have concluded that the task can be done (even with Word).
>
> I would happily participate in any forum/work dedicated to this
> question,
> surely much more to learn than to contribute ;-)
>

Juan,

Thanks for the offer of support.

Word is certainly a tool under consideration, especially since MS intends to
include XML Support with the new Office.
However, it is not the only solution and the tool chain extends beyond just
the editing environment.

Personally I don't mind which editor people use, so long as it is productive
and conforms to open standards and hence has no lock in to proprietary
formats. Unfortunately MS does not have a very good track record when it
comes to standards compliance. I hope they will stay in compliance with W3C
with the new Office.

Certainly, many users can only use Word and are not technical enough to
learn another tool. Using an existing tool like Word, in parts or the
organization, will dramatically reduce implementation costs. Especially in
the areas of licensing and training. More technical departments/users may
use more specialized editors or even emacs + psgmls. Can you imagine asking
the reception to use emacs?

Perhaps you can lend us your requirements and reasoning for concluding that
the task can be done (even with Word). This, together with other
contributions can be a starting point for further discussion/debate within
the community.

Regards,

Sean Wheller