RE: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help

["David Locke" <dlocke -at- texas -dot- net>]

I've been doing semantic-based markup for fourteen years. You don't need XML
to do the markup. You can do the markup in MS Word, or Framemaker using
styles. Then, you can convert that markup directly to XML, and once in XML
you can manipulate it with XSLT if need be.

The distinction you are making about Framemaker being a tool for
presentation markup depends entirely on how the tool is used and not on the
tool itself. I'm pretty sure that if someone worked hard enough they could
use Epic to markup presentation, instead of semantic intent. Yeah, I would
have to write a DTD statement for "bold." Then, I suppose I could say that
Epic was a presentation layer tool. Sure, it isn't supposed to be done that
way. And, I've said the same thing about using styles for presentation. I
always get some argument by writers who want to decorate for non-semantic
reasons. So put the blame where it belongs with the users of tools and not
the tools.

David Locke



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ROBOHELP FOR FRAMEMAKER TRIAL NOW AVAILABLE!

RoboHelp for FrameMaker is a NEW online publishing tool for FrameMaker that
lets you easily single-source content to online Help, intranet, and Web.  
The interface is designed for FrameMaker users, so there is little or no
learning curve and no macro language required! Call 800-718-4407 for 
competitive pricing or download a trial at: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l4

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.