Re: is it possible to single-source online & print and author in HTML?

[Michael Collier <mcollier -at- ARLUT -dot- UTEXAS -dot- EDU>]

Have you looked into XML for a solution?

I'm beginning to think that HTML may be a dead end for this kind of use.
For example, I put together an HTML application that uses a little
javascript with forms to expedite updating software release notes; the
QE can push a button that e-mails me an instruction (contained in the
subject line) for the paragraph # of the release notes being viewed.

But when it comes to developing HTML that will put the contents of the
paragraph in the body of the e-mail so it can be edited, I can't go any
further (unless there's a wizard on the list who can suggest a
solution). Right now I'm wondering if this is job for XML. That's where
I'll be looking next, since XML promises greter interactivity through
the browser. Any other comments or ideas?


Chuck Martin wrote:

...[snipped]
>
> I'm continuing my investigations, but I would appreciate any insights or
> suggestions from the larger technical writing community. Boiling this
> whole thing down to a reasonably simple question, I need to find the
> answer to: is it possible to author documentation of hundreds or
> thousands of topics directly in HTML and also produce ordered print
> output from a specific subset of the topics?
>
> Ideas and suggestions are ever so much appreciated.

................................................................................
Michael Collier                 Phone:  512-835-3408
Information Systems Laboratory  FAX:    512-490-4254
ARL                             Office: AX207
University of Texas at Austin   email:  mcollier -at- arlut -dot- utexas -dot- edu
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