Re: SGML

[Mark Levinson <mark -at- SD -dot- CO -dot- IL>]

Any feelings on SGML?  Advantages, disadvantages?

** Disadvantages:  It takes away your control over how the
      text looks and how the text fits on the page.  It demands
      that you consider content without considering form, the
      message without the medium.

      It can lead to unrealistic expectations of portability
      (wow, we can use our brochure as the introduction to
      our reference manual, our reference manual as our
      training manual, our training manual as our online help...).

      And my specific pet peeve:  If the importance of your
      headings is not really in strict top-down order, there's
      no way you can let the reader know.

      (That may bear explanation.  Suppose, for example, that
      I am explaining functions one by one and that for convenience
      the functions are grouped by category.  Maybe the category is a
      second-level heading and the function name is a third-level heading
      but I want the function name to jump out at the reader; that's
      what the reader is more likely to be looking for.  I can't
      convey the idea that a third-level heading should be more
      prominent than a second-level heading.)

   Advantages:  It's sexy.

__________________________________________________________________________
||- Mark L. Levinson, mark -at- sd -dot- co -dot- il -- Box 5780, 46157 Herzlia, Israel -||
||     You can't judge right by looking at the wrong. - Willie Dixon    ||