Re: Object-Oriented Documentation

[Sheila Carlisle <scarlisle -at- axialinfo -dot- com>]

One way to do what you're envisioning is to use a publishing automation 
approach with FrameMaker, very possibly combined with a database to 
manage the process.

For example, you could have a set of "manual profiles" in the database; 
each profile would contain the details of the specific content. This 
could also be a "customer-specific" profile. This info would be exported 
as an XML file, which would then be used in a dynamic process to pull 
together pre-existing FM "excerpts", apply user-selected formatting, and 
poss. combine with content from any other database content, e.g. 
developer's reference material.

Unless you distribute FM docs themselves, you'd probably be generating 
either PDFs or HTML/XML or online help as the output, so the complete FM 
docs become literally throw-aways, to be regenerated on-demand.

Even using a minimalist approach, anyone in the company could generate 
manuals on demand, as needed, letting the tech writers concentrate on 
content rather than production.

Sheila


Julia Stein wrote: