Re: [docbook] Re: Free Shared Glossart Database of Computing Terms

[Sean Wheller <sean at enbaya dot co dot za>]

On Wednesday 19 January 2005 08:19, Michael Smith wrote:
> What about the Wikipedia? -
>
>   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DocBook
>
> All content there is covered under the GNU FDL, so you are free to
> re-use it in any way you want as long as you tell where you got it from.
>
> Or for just computing terms, FOLDOC -
>
>   http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=dtd&action=Search
>
> Though that is getting pretty out of date now. And I would reckon
> that everything there is by now already available in the Wikipedia.
>

I was think more along the lines of an XML-instance structured in the Docbook 
Glossary format. One that people can use to perform glossary collection 
during processing and to which they can contribute new glossary entries. The 
result would essentially be a large glossary that can be used as a gloss 
database during processing.

My reasoning for wanting this is that I often come across terms I would like 
to use as a glossentry in my docs, but in order to do so I must first have 
the entry in my glossary.xml. So I go through the process of making a new 
entry each time that I want to use a term that is not in the database. 

I figure, everyone must have the same problem. Constantly adding gloss entries 
to a database is a pain, well for me at least. It breaks my writing/markup 
flow. Why not have a central glossary.xml with many people contributing 
entries. In this way everyone benefits, since there is a greater chance, over 
time, that somebody already entered a gloss entry for the term you wish to 
use.

Naturally, there has to be some consensus on the definition of a term. Besides 
that, once a terms is defined, the changes of it changing are minimal. 
Speaking of consensus there would also have to be a common agreement of what 
is a computing term and agreement on the semantics so that we have an 
inter-changeable document.

Perhaps the way to start is for me to upload what I have, not much but a 
start, and let it run from there. Only question is where to put it? The other 
way would be if a company like O'Reilly would release their "dictionary of 
computer terms" and we can start with that. Obviously there is less 
forklifting if we can do it in the second way :-)


Any other ideas from people?

-- 
Sean Wheller
sean@enbaya.co.za
http://www.enbaya.co.za