RE: XML content management systems

[Yaakov Gelber <yaacovg2007 -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Thanks. I will do some more home work.
 
Yaacovg



> Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 15:29:49 +0100> From: xchaotic -at- gmail -dot- com> To: yaacovg2007 -at- hotmail -dot- com> Subject: Re: XML content management systems> CC: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> > In that case I don't think SharePoint is likely to fulfill those requirements.> > As a first step, I think, you might need to change your authoring> environment. Any variations of Word products may produce consistently> styled conent, but it's simply to easy to stray from there, even> unintentionally. Also Word's native OOXML format is difficult to work> with (th specification spanning thousands of pages, arguably not XML> in some places).> Switching to a more suitable format such as DITA, encourages reuse by> default and is becoming the de facto standard for tech writing> departments. Through specialization, you may adapt DITA to suit your> particular needs.> > I personally had to work with processes where Word format was the> desired output (due to it being widespread), it worked well as a> presentation tool. Any attempt to merge the changes from Word to the> CMS is in my view a risky attempt.> > As for XML-based CMS, there really is a lot of them out there. I> suggest reading STC Intercom edition devoted to planning and choosing> a CMS implementation.> > Then maybe http://cmswatch.com/, just to see the plethora of solution> on the market.> > There really is a lot of factors to ponder upon, technical,> managerial, philosophical.> > For instance, for any large enough repository, scalability and> performance become issues - if your writers are used to editing> offline, performance of many CMSes might be noticeably slow.> > Workflows only makes sense if they are well-designed and integrated> with the tools. I think this is one particular are where Sharepoint> excels - you can use use API to program custom workflows. In my> experience, I find it much more difficult for the management to use &> grasp the ideas of CMS than writers themselves.> > Almost every time, you need to customize the CMS solution to you> needs, you need to ensure that it's configurable enough (many CMSes> don't expose APIs for crucial functions so you're stuck with default> behavior) and that you have the resources to do so (in-house full-time> programmer ?).> > From the plethora of choices I see two ends of the spectrum:> a) small, usually open-source solutions, usually adapting existing> tech such as wikis, DITA OT, SVN, exist to form a basic CMS> b) huge players, Microsoft, PTC, IBM than can provide end-to-end> solutions (editor + database + workflows + nice GUI).> For instance in case of PTC that would be Epic Editor + XHive XML DB +> Documentum as a sample configuration.> > > It really is becoming a huge field as almost every company needs to> manage their knowledge and assets via some form of CMS.> The right choice can only be made knowing the specific use cases. An> that is only the beginning of the road, it needs to be followed by a> well-governed implementation and migration, followed by user training> and careful maintenance, including but not limited to managing the> reusable content.> > Lech
_________________________________________________________________
Make Windows Vista more reliable and secure with Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
http://www.windowsvista.com/SP1?WT.mc_id=hotmailvistasp1banner
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.