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>First, it is not clear that XML and XSLT constitute the cutting edge
>of technical communication tools.
Disagree. We just finished an extensive XML/XSLT project and the
necessary programming was clearly cutting edge. This was the first XML
project our department managed. It won't be our last.
XML is "The Future through the Past" (sorry, Robert Heinlein). See
also the SunRay slim client for another example of the same trend.
(By the Sun corporation).
Some "new" techs are simply refined old ones. So?
>It is likely that in shops that move to markup technology, as in most
>shops that use markup today, the writers themselves will not be
>involved in text programming chores, or in design or layout of pages,
>or any part of the prepress process.
>Which is to say that the tools most important to technical writers will once
>again be the ones they are hired to document, which is as it should be.
Disagree. To quote from an exchange on this email group in May, 1997.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>I'm not saying that we need to become programmers so much as
>saying that:
>o The position of "Technical Writer" needs to be redefined,
>whether or not this involves "programming."
>o Web documentation has already and will continue to cause
> a drastic shift in how "Technical Communication" is defined.
Ruth Glaser responded:
>> I, personally, am not willing to go there. My value is
>> in knowledge transfer, not in building tools and programming.
>> It?s simply not efficient for me to do that.
The other poster:
>I do not see "knowledge transfer" and "tool building" as
>separated. IMHO, Technical Communication occurs because
>someone- usually a TW- built the tools necessary to knowledge
>transfer. My value as a hard-copy writer lies in knowing when
> and how to build the objects (tables, graphs, and so on) that
>allow knowledge transfer to occur.
> My value as a Web writer is no different. I know when and how
> to build the objects (hyperlinks, Javascripts, Netscape plug-ins,
> and so on) that allow knowledge transfer to occur.
> Tool building is tool building. Technical writing is all about
> adaptation anyway, and I'm willing and able to adapt to any
> tool set.
Back to Ruth:
>> As the line between writing and programming further blurs,
>> I agree that technical communicators are challenged to
>> redefine our niche. That niche should not be "programmer
>> wannabees."
Last, the other poster:
> I agree - but there are plenty of multimedia experts and
> engineers who are already building technically oriented
> Web pages. At a guess, unless we do reinvent ourselves,
> someone else will cheerfully do it for us.
As quoted by Jay Mead in his paper,
"MEASURING THE VALUE ADDED BY TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION"
Jay Mead
February 23, 1998
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IMHO, nothing has changed in 6 years. Instead:
o The local engineers are deeper into documentation.
o Tech Pubs hired an engineer with 14 years compiler building
experience as a Technical Writer (and he's a very good one).
o My job is deeper into SW design and coding.
o XML is accelerating the merger between eng and writer.
Humans have 2 brain hemispheres. We can program _and_ write.
David S. Blyth
Staff Technical Writer
QCT Division
QUALCOMM
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