SGML Implementation Guide News & Views Book Review

SGML Implementation Guide: A Blueprint for SGML Migration Brian E. Travis and Dale C. Waldt by Cheryl Cherry Freelance Writer (Telford, Pennsylvania) The SGML Implementation Guide: A Blueprint for SGML Migration, by Brian E. Travis and Dale C. Waldt. Springer-Verlag 1995. ISBN 3-540-57730-0 $49.50 522 pp. Originally published in News & Views September 1996 issue. Copyright 1996 STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter. For permission to reprint this article, contact the Managing Editor.

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is a system of identifying and tagging the components of a document based on structure and, in some cases, content. The increasing interest in SGML is a reflection of several trends in communication: Our view of "publishing" has changed. More than producing piles of paper, publishing now includes dissemination of information in many forms. SGML can be used to produce a variety of deliverables. Users' expectations have changed. We can't hand over a pile of paper and say "Your answer is in here somewhere. Find it." With SGML, careful planning can yield documents for different audiences from the same mass of information. No organization can afford to do something twice. Once information has been disseminated in one form, reworking it for distribution in a different form wastes resources. SGML is platform independent. In their SGML Implementation Guide: A Blueprint for SGML Migration, Brian E. Travis and Dale C. Waldt provide a wealth of information for people considering using SGML to cope with these trends. The authors are true believers that SGML is a tool that can help communicators change their emphasis from production of piles of paper to information management. What can SGML do for me? In the first of three major parts of the book, Business Issues, Travis and Waldt present information to help you decide whether you need to use SGML. (Can you guess the authors' point of view? The title of their first chapter is "Your Publishing System is Broken!"). Decided to use SGML? Part II, The Project, describes how to proceed. Beginning with a chapter on document analysis, the authors proceed to developing (or buying) an SGML application. They move on to discussing information conversion, and conclude this part with an overview of SGML data management and workflow. Caution: The authors are data management experts. Throughout Part II they assume you know a lot about computers. If you already know what a parser is, you are part of their target audience. If not, consider Martin Bryan's book for authors (see below). Ready to tackle the nitty-gritty details? Part III, The Language, digs into the mechanics of SGML. Before you can create a tagged document, you have to create a Document Type Definition (DTD). The DTD is a sort of tree structure for the document. Planning is crucial, because every document instance produced using a specific DTD must follow its structure. The authors are the voice of experience about what works and what doesn't when creating a DTD and then tagging documents. Want to know more? The text is supplemented by 140 pages of appendices. The case studies are interesting reading; the DTD for the book itself is educational. Sources of additional information are listed and software tools are mentioned. (I would have liked an in-depth look at available commercial software for creating Document Type Definitions and authoring tagged SGML documents.) Interested in SGML, but not responsible for implementing its use? Take a look at the older (but still in print) SGML: An Author's Guide to the Standard Generalized Markup Language by Martin Bryan. (SGML: An Author's Guide to the Standard Generalized Markup Language, by Martin Bryan. Addison-Wesley 1988. ISBN 0-201-17535-5 $34.75 364 pp.) The title says it all. In contrast to Travis and Waldt's data management perspective, Bryan has an author's point of view. Want to use SGML, but don't have time to learn much? Wait just a little longer. Human brains are needed for document analysis, but many of the coding tasks can be handled by a PC running an SGML authoring package. Some tools are on the market now, and more powerful ones are in the works!

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Last updated: November 6, 1996 (wq)