Abstract: Texts are characterized by various types of linkages, within themselves and with other documents, which may be either explicit or implicit. When texts are available in machine-readable form, the ability to trace linkages should become much easier, and more complex tracing of linkages should be possible. Hypertext is an electronic document paradigm whose distinguishing feature is machine support for the building and tracing of intra- and inter-document links; a document is viewed as a collection of nodes connected by directed links. A limitation of many hypertext systems is that all links must be created explicitly by the user. This is impractical in many situations, and it is unnecessary if the link structure is inherent in the documents themselves. The work described in our paper is motivated by the perceived need to extend the hypertext paradigm so that links can be derived from a collection of documents. We explore how a rich set of links connecting documents in a text archive can be programmatically generated, and present a set of link types that are useful, specifiable and computable. The documents in the archive are encoded using the Standard Generalized Markup Language, which views a document as a hierarchical organization of document elements. The archive, therefore, consists of a forest of document trees.
Abstract: "This case study chronicles the successes and shortcomings of an ongoing SGML implementation for electronic publishing from a legacy data conversion at a technical society. A commitment to SGML is most often couched in dollar terms; most implementors are aware of the tremendous costs in data conversion, DTD development, and editorial tools. However, implementors at this technical society realized that an additional level of commitment was needed to successfully publish using SGML. This commitment escaped notice perhaps because implementation planning most often focuses on easily measurable costs. For this quintessential 'content provider,' the need for technically skilled people was one of the unforeseen aspects of its embrace of SGML."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Business Management" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: This paper presents MarkItUp!, a system to recognize the structure of untagged electronic documents which contain sub-documents with similar format. For these kinds of documents manual structure recognition is a highly repetitive task. On the other hand, the specifictation of recognition grammars requires significant intellectual effort. Our approach uses manually structured examples to incrementally generate recognition grammars by means of techniques for learning by example. Users can structure example portions of a document by inserting mark-ups. MarkItUp! then abstracts and unifies the structure of the examples. On this basis, it tries to structure another example with similar format. Users can correct or accept the produced structure.
With every accepted example thereby a grammar is acquired and gradually refined, which can be used to successfully structure the other portions of the document.
The article is based upon a paper delivered at the Conference on Electronic Publishing, Document Manipulation and Typography, EP94, Darmstadt, Germany, 1994. A draft version is available in Postscript format as P-94-07.ps.Z from the GMD-IPSI FTP server. Article received 15-August-1993, revised 1-December-1993.
"Abstract: Although editors make extensive use of the computer in their work. Most editors still mark changes on paper using traditional editing symbols. There are, however, compelling reasons for editors to begin marking copy on the computer. We consider online editing from the perspective both of editors and their employers. We then focus on one aspect of online editing: the mark-up models embodied in various editing tools. We demonstrate that the different mark-up models and their particular implementations have major implications for the editing process, including the quality of edited material and the worklife satisfaction of editors and writers. We conclude by recommending that the technical communication community exert its influence on software developers and corporate technology planners to encourage the development and adoption of online editing tools that will be congenial to editors."
Abstract: "SGML is billed as a key to making your data vendor-independent. 'Freedom!' is a rallying cry of the SGML community. Inspired, you migrate your data to SGML, only to discover that important clients and business partners still want it in the format of their favorite word processor, WWW browser, or publishing system and they expect you to translate it for them. How will you translate your data from SGML to other formats? In this article, we discuss several solutions to this translation problem. Along the way, we visit some key features and concepts of tools that address this problem, and we relate the problem to the DSSSL standard. Finally, we investigate the translation problem and the roles of SGML and DSSSL in the context of digital libraries."
See the main document entry for the complete list of articles and contributors, as well as other bibliographic information.
Abstract: SGML, the Standard Generalized Markup Language, separates the content of adocument from its format. SGML documents contain tags that describe what a text component is rather than how it should be formatted. The absence of device-dependent formatting codes means documents can be transferred across systems and formatted in various ways. The presence of tags allows for selective searching, editing and viewing of the text. However, determining what text components should be tagged can be difficult since text can be classified in various ways, depending on how the document will be used.
"Summary: The electronic version of the Oxford English Dictionary incorporates a modified SGML syntax. This article describes the conversion project and explains why the database designers chose structured markup, but not a full SGML implementation. It lists some advantages of structured markup: (1) It supports the data-searching needs of users; (2) It allows textual components to be extracted or modified to produce derivative versions; (3) It allows text to be viewed in various useful ways."
Abstract: "Effective search and retrieval, editing, and browsing tools are necessary to access the growing amount of material published online. Tools based on tagged text address this need by treating text as a database where components can be manipulated independently from each other. The University of Waterloo is developing a browsing tool that allows readers or editors to isolate a text of interest, while concealing other text from view. This can result in useful renditions of the same text. The creation of these rensitions, however, required writers to become even more aware of the organization of their texts."
Abstract: SIMON is a grammar-based transformation system for restructuring documents. Its target applications include meta-level specification of document assembly, view definition and retrieval for multiview documents, and document type evolution. The internal document model is based on attribute grammars, and it interfaces with external document models such as SGML through input and output conversion. The transformation engine of SIMON is an amalgamation of syntax-directed computation and content-oriented computation: the former is through higher-order (and related) extensions of attribute grammars, whereas the latter is done by externally defined programs and it is for computation not naturally amenable to the syntax-directed paradigm. The current implementation of SIMON employs the higher-order extension proposed by H. H. Vogt, S. D. Swierstra, and M. F. Kuiper ("Higher-Order Attribute Grammars," Proceedings of the ACM SIGPLAN '89 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation: 131-145) for the syntax-directed computation, and C++ for the content-oriented computation.
Abstract: "Executives at the Automated Document Control Branch of the Correspondence and Directives Directorate at the Pentagon is attempting to standardize the DOD's manuals and directives under SGML. Officials believe that an electronic publishing system will significantly reduce the amount of paper required for manuals throughout the entire DOD. The Air Force and Army have responded enthusiastically to the program, but some DOD agencies are resisting adopting SGML document management, which has become a DOD standard. The electronic publishing system uses SoftQuad's Panorama Pro text processing software for online publishing and to automate SGML document preparation, and civilians can gain access to unclassified information via the Web."
Excerpt: "The tool they are using is Panorama Pro software from SoftQuad Inc. of Toronto. The software automates SGML document preparation and supports online publishing, including searching. Pan-orama Pro also generates a table of contents that automatically is updated whenever the document is changed. . . Web publishing is based on Hypertext Markup Language, a subset of SGML that lacks some of SGML's functionality. HTML is changing as the Web develops, Vercio said, so it lacks the advantages of standardization. On the other hand, HTML browsers do not support SGML. Web browsers are common, but SGML ones are not."
The article is available online from the Government Computer News WWW server: GCN Online; [archive copy, text only].
The HyTime Application Development Guide clarifies the relationship between SGML and HyTime, shows how HyTime constructs can be used to extend the basic capabilities of SGML, and describes some of the basic features of HyTime, using examples.
Version 1.2.4 of the document is available in PostScript format from TechnoTeacher's FTP server. Version 1.2 (May 1995) of the document is also available in PDF format through PHOENIX DATA LABS. See the author's announcement for a brief description.
Summary: "This paper outlines an extension of the Text Encoding Initiative encoding scheme for use by those who wish to study, interpret or otherwise use legal text. This last series of verbs is deliberately vague. It brings under one roof the academic study of legal texts, by lawyers, linguists, historians and others, as well as the use of text by lawyers in their daily work of determining the law for clients or courts. The purpose of these extensions is to provide these researchers with tools that will enable the understanding and use of a text in specifically legal ways by the encoding of those textual features that may be of particular interest in legal study. Although it deals with aspects of text that differentiate it precisely as legal text, this paper takes as a working assumption that the basic reading of text by lawyers is sufficiently like at least some of the reading practiced by humanities scholars to make the extension for lawyers of a humanities encoding system worthwhile.[...] This paper is concerned with the description of a rather basic set of extensions that will allow better representation of legal text while using the TEI encoding scheme. The completion of this set of extensions and the use of the TEI encoding scheme as so modified to mark up a significant quantity of legal text will be an endeavor that will prove both interesting and useful."
See the main database entry for University of Cincinnati College of Law, Center for Electronic Text in the Law, or the web site for CETL: The Center for Electronic Text in the Law.
The extended abstract for the document is available online: http://www.stg.brown.edu/webs/tei10/tei10.papers/finke.html; [local archive copy]. See the main database entry for additional information about the conference, or the Brown University web site.
This issue of Baskerville makes available a number of papers presented at a joint meeting of the UK TEX Users' Group and BCS Electronic Publishing Specialist Group (January 19, 1995) [mirror copy]. See the link to Baskerville, or email: baskerville@tex.ac.uk. Issue 5/2 of Baskerville has other articles on SGML: "Portable Documents: Why use SGML?" (David Barron); "Formatting SGML Documents" (Jonathan Fine); "HTML & TeX: Making them sweat" (Peter Flynn); "The Inside Story of Life at Wiley with SGML, LaTeX and Acrobat" (Geeti Granger); "SGML and LaTeX" (Horst Szillat). See the special bibliography page for other articles on SGML and (LA)TEX.
Report on the conference "SGML Technology 1996" which was held on March 27, 1996, in Ottawa. See the conference entry.
See the bibliographic entry for The Transcription of Primary Textual Sources Using SGML in this database.
The paper (online version) has two parts: (1) Transcription challenges inherent in the document: The problem of dual emendation and correction; (2) Transcription Challenges arising from the Use of SGML: The Problem of Multiple Hierarchies.
"In both of the cases discussed above, it is clear that the principles of SGML are intimately bound up with the WWP's conceptualization and solution of various transcription problems. This is to say that SGML and the TEI's implementation of it, quite apart from being either a help or a hindrance in solving a particular transcription issue, are of great use in thinking intelligently about it. It may sometimes seem that the particular formulations enforced by these systems create unnecessary complexity; however, in almost all cases this complexity is already latent in the document or the activity of transcription. What appear to be simple, natural systems (like pages with text on them) reveal their complexity when we attempt to map out their real structures in an explicit way; we see them as simple only because they are written deeply into our cultural systems. As a way of bringing such systems to the level of awareness, SGML is invaluable; we only need to remain aware of the structures it in turn creates before they too become naturalized and invisible. [from the Conclusion]
The document is available online: http://dynaweb.stg.brown.edu/wwp_books/DL/. See also the main workshop entry or the program listing for other workshop details. See also: Mah, Flanders, and Lavagnino, "Some Problems of TEI Markup and Early Printed Books," in Computers and the Humanities (CHUM), 1997.
[Excerpt]: "Now that the TEI Guidelines have been in use long enough to create a substantial base of encoded data, projects whose source material and encoding strategies are similar can benefit from comparing approaches to common problems, and assessing whether their divergences are justified by differences in data or philosophy, or merely represent unnecessary variation in the application of the TEI. . .One area of primary source transcription which deserves examination along these lines is the classification of proper nouns and similar words and phrases, using the elements described in Chapter 20 of the TEI Guidelines . . .The proposed session will present several perspectives on this problem, with several aims: first, of allowing the participating projects (and those represented in the audience) to compare practices and discuss the status of their variation; second, of situating the specific problem of encoding proper nouns within the context of scholarly analysis, so as to create a more precise sense of the needs which the encoding is intended to address; and third, to think more broadly about the pressures and constraints on classification systems in text encoding."
Abstract available online in HTML format: "Applying the TEI: Problems in the classification of proper nouns. (Session)", by Julia Flanders, Sydney Bauman, Mavis Cournane, Willard McCarty, Aara Suksi; [archive copy]
Additional information on the ACH-ALLC '97 Conference is available in the SGML/XML Web Page main conference entry, or [August 1997] via the Queen's University WWW server.
For a description of the SGML database underlying the production of the Principles of Ambulatory Medicine, see the bibliographic entry for the work edited by Randol L. Barker, et al. For further information on the use of SGML by the National Library of Medicine for database publishing, see the main entry for the NLM.
Author's abstract: "This report is a summary of the joint conference of the Association for Computing in the Humanities and the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing, held at Georgetown University, Washington DC, 16-19 June 1993. It contains a précis of the text published in the preprints supplemented by the author's notes, but omissions occur for a few sessions for which (a) no paper was available; (b) where a panel discussion was held viva voce; or (c) where a fuller report is available from the speaker. In dealing with topics sometimes outside my own field, I will naturally have made mistakes, and I ask the authors' pardon if I have misrepresented them."
Several of the presentations at ACH/ALLC 1993 treat SGML topics. An HTML version of this report is available from the Curia WWW server. It is also available here in mirror copy.
Abstract: "[The book has] three sections deal with (1) Getting connected to the Internet and using Internet software; (2) Writing HTML (2.0) files for the WorldWideWeb; (3) Running a HTTP server and providing a Web service. Author is a member of the IETF Working Group on HTML. Text includes additional material on SGML; choice of editors, browsers and servers;copyright and intellectual property; and advance details of HTML3."
See the online description of the book, the Table of Contents, the book Foreword, or the companion HTML Quick Reference Guide.
This issue of Baskerville makes available a number of papers presented at a joint meeting of the UK TEX Users' Group and BCS Electronic Publishing Specialist Group (January 19, 1995) [mirror copy]. See the link to Baskerville, or email: baskerville@tex.ac.uk. Issue 5/2 of Baskerville has other articles on SGML: "Portable Documents: Why use SGML?" (David Barron); "Formatting SGML Documents" (Jonathan Fine); "HTML & TeX: Making them sweat" (Peter Flynn); "The Inside Story of Life at Wiley with SGML, LaTeX and Acrobat" (Geeti Granger); "SGML and LaTeX" (Horst Szillat). See the special bibliography page for other articles on SGML and (LA)TEX.
Abstract: "HTML is often criticized for its presentation-oriented conception. But it does contain sufficient structural information for many everyday purposes and this has led to its development into a more stable form. Future platforms for the World Wide Web may support other applications of SGML, and the present climate of popularity of the Web is a suitable opportunity for consolidation of the more stable features [of HTML]. TeX is pre-eminently stable and provides an ideal companion for the process of translating HTML into print."
Editorial note: Some of the notions in the article (predicated of HTML) and the supporting tools are applicable, to a degree, to SGML (documents). The paper is based upon a similar document published in Baskerville 5/2 (March 1995). Note that the author has produced a utility SGML2TEX as a general-purpose program that translates SGML-tagged text into LATEX based upon mappings specified by the end user.
For more on SGML/XML and TeX, see the dedicated database entry and the topical bibliography listing.
"This book is a practical guide to implementing SGML and XML with precise procedures for making the most of the wide range of tools available. Programs are introduced in the context of the lifecycle of a document, from creation, through validation, on-line display, searching and database, to printed delivery and repository storage. Included are many examples of the tools discussed, showing the various output stages and the methods for producing them, as well as tips and tricks for getting the most out of them. The accompanying CDROM contains a range of SGML and XML tools, including design tools, editors, parsers, formatters, databases, converters, utilities, DTDs, DSSSL/XSL and other sample style specifications."
From the author's web page: "Here's the essential book on software for handling SGML: the complete life-cycle guide to your documents. Understanding SGML and XML Tools is essential reading for anyone building or using SGML systems, and provides a valuable reference for all those times when you need the right tool for the job. Peter Flynn has many years' experience in implementing and using SGML in business and research, and provides valuable advice on the tricks and traps of working with over 50 popular commercial and public domain SGML programs. The book has seven chapters, covering the cycle of creation to final archival. The free CD-ROM includes both commercial and public-domain software, from demos to complete full systems, plus a 90-day license for Corel's WordPerfect Suite 8 SGML wordprocessor."
See the more complete volume description with chapter summaries. Or see http:imbolc.ucc.ie/~pflynn/books/sgmltools.html, which also provides a Contents listing and bibliographic data in BibTeX style.
Abstact: The relationship between TeX and SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language, ISO 8879) has always been uneasy, with adherents to one system the other displaying symptoms reminiscent of the religious wars popular between devotees of TeX and other word processors. SGML and TeX can in fact coexist successfully, provided features of one system are not expected of the other. This paper presents a pilot program to test one method of achieving such a cohabitation.
The text is/was online at Curia. A mirror copy is available here.
Abstract: "The World Wide Web has had over 5 years of intensive development, and has expanded from a text-only technical documentation system to a multimedia information base distributed across the planet. Although its tool for structural definition, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), has been under constant development throughout this period, most browsers have been slow to take advantage of all the facilities it offers. At a time when there is much debate over the public future of the Web, it is in danger of partial stagnation. Despite significant innovations in some areas, the field is still open for software developers who are capable of harvesting the benefits of SGML, the language in which HTML is written. This analysis of HTML Document Type Descriptions (DTDs) reveals where some opportunities may lie."
See the main document entry for the complete list of articles and contributors, as well as other bibliographic information.
"Abstract: The evolution of document management systems towards compound documents makes necessary the use of rational representations of information. Rather than slowing down technology development, document standards offer a new way of using document management systems. They are not only search tools, but become communication nodes for documents between electronic media. By representing the logical structure of documents and being system independent, the SGML standard especially addresses this issue."
Abstract: We propose the use of SGML 'concurrent structures' to create and tag the structure of an idealized or virtual document to be mapped onto the tagged structures from actual print dictionaries. The idealized structure is to be defined by a simplified document type definition [SGML DTD]; the elements of actual print dictionary entries will be rearranged to fit into the resulting template. We use a system of index numbers to link the elements of the generalized entries with their sources in the entries of the actual documents. We illustrate this technique by using it to merge elements from a number of different dictionaries into a generalized entry structure.
"INTRODUCTION: With funding from 1991-1995 by NSF, and support by ACM, the Envision team has prototyped a DL system for the computing literature (Fox et al., 1993b). Part of the work has involved developing SGML Document Type Definitions, converting typesetter data into an SGML archive based on those DTDs, and building a large collection of bibliographic records, review articles, full-text technical articles and video materials. Thousands of page images have been scanned in, and coupled with bibliographic records. A small collection of MPEG data has been prepared using special compression software, for use in educational activities (Fox & Abdulla, 1994).
Project activities also have included developing the Envision system. One component of that is a specialized object-oriented database system being developed by G. Averboch to replace the earlier system programmed by QiFan Chen. The largest component is the Envision backend system, that makes use of a version of MARIAN for searching. It manages data in an SGML archive, and converts documents that are selected for display to HTML, so they can be presented using a Mosaic browser. The backend talks with a specially tailored interface for query formulation, listing results, and visualizing the result set (Nowell et al., 1994). Overall, a user-centered design approach was undertaken; usability tests have shown keen appreciation of the interface."
Available online: http://fox.cs.vt.edu/NORDINFO.txt; [mirror copy, September 1995]
"Abstract: With support from four NSF awards we aim to develop a prototype digital library in computer science and apply it to improve undergraduate education. First, Project Envision, "A User-Centered Database from the Computer Science Literature", 1991-94, deals with translation, coding standards including SGML, retrieval/previewing/presentation/browsing/linking, human-computer interaction, and construction of a partial archive using text and multimedia materials provided by ACM. Second, "Interactive Learning with a Digital Library in Computer Science," 1993-96, supported by NSF and ACM with additional assistance from other publishers, focuses on improving learning through delivery of materials from the archive. Third, "Networked Multimedia File System with HyTime", funded by NSF through the SUCCEED coalition, considers networking support for distributed multimedia applications and the use of HyTime for description of such applications. Fourth, equipment support comes from the Information Access Laboratory allotment of the "Interactive Accessibility: Breaking Barriers to the Power of Computing" grant funded by NSF for 1993-98. We report on plans and work with digital video relating to these projects. In particular, we focus on our analysis of the requirements for a multimedia digital library in computer science and our experience with MPEG as it applies to that library."
Abstract: "The NSF funded (1993-96) Education Infrastructure project Interactive Learning with a Digital Library in Computer Science builds upon work in Project Envision, another NSF project (1991-94) to develop A User-Centered Database from the Computer Science Literature. Our objective is to make development of high-quality educational materials more cost effective by having that effort build upon a hypermedia digital library. In Fall 1994 we have three classes working with new courseware produced and distributed over WWW.
"This presentation describes the architecture, design, development and administration for our system. In addition to using Mosaic and the NCSA WWW server, we employ Graz University's Hyper-G server and its Harmony and Amadeus clients. Further, the Envision system aids authoring by providing searching, results visualization, and browsing of a large SGML archive and multimedia object database - and also utilizes a WWW server loaded with data from ACM and other publishers. Our materials include large bibliographies, collections of page images, SGML versions of journal articles, videos, and other resources.
"...Of particular importance is our commitment to using SGML and object-oriented database (OODB) methods. According to our investigations, users prefer to think about objects related to their domain of inquiry (e.g., algorithms, animations, source code, pseudo code, theorems, proofs, conferences, research projects, authors). Thus, we have an object in our OODB for each abstract entity (e.g., author, institution, journal), with associated attributes recorded as well as links to related objects."
Available online in HTML format; [mirror copy, September 1995]
Introduction: "On the first anniversary of funding by the U.S. Department of Education (FIPSE) for a National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, we review its origins, describe progress-to-date that warrants its now being called the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), explain some of the controversy that has led to widespread publicity and dissemination, and explore future growth possibilities. The first workshop about electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) took place in 1987 with a technical focus on standards, namely applying SGML to the description of research. Ten years later, we realize that the proper aim should be improving graduate education by having students enter ETDs into a digital library which facilitates much broader access. Achieving that goal calls for a sustainable, worldwide, collaborative, educational initiative of universities committed to encouraging students to prepare electronic documents and to use digital libraries - NDLTD."
The article is available online in HTML format; local archive copy. See the mail URL for NDLDT: http://www.ndltd.org. Note that D-Lib Magazine frequently contains articles referencing the use of SGML encoding in digital library research.
Summary: "With the support of the National Science Foundation and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Envision project has developed a prototype digital library of computer science literature that is highly usable (from user-centered design), highly structured (from SGML and an object database), and highly integrated (from hypertext links among objects). The result is a representation of part of the computer science literature as a cohesive body of knowledge that can be searched and viewed in innovative ways. The user interface was designed with careful attention to user needs and desires (through interviews with potential users), to graphic detail (through involvement of an artist and attention to the research literature on graphical perception and psychophysics), and to usability (through an iterative process of usability evaluation). Recognizing the need to translate enormous quantities of documents in an unlimited variety of input formats into a single standard format, the project developed a flexible system for analyzing the structures (e.g., titles, authors, paragraphs, and references) within a document and translating that structure into any standard markup scheme. The Envision distributed server supports simultaneous access to the library by a number of users and in a variety of ways. The Envision software is soon to be installed at ACM headquarters and made available to ACM members. The Envision system will continue in use at Virginia Tech and Norfolk State University to support the work of a related NSF Educational Infrastructure grant."
Available online: the HTML version, or [mirror copy, September 1995]; a Postscript version is also available.
Abstract: "In numerous fields of technical documentation and publishing, paper media are giving way to electronic media. The SGML Standard (ISO 8879:1986) is gaining increasing importance. The documents processed, in particular in the aircraft industry but also in other fields like legal publishing, are generally of large size, highly structured and regularly updated. Their production in the SGML format creates a need in terms of document management systems. A repository architecture, supporting different kinds of activities such as consultation or edition, is a requirement for such a production."
"We give an overview of the requirements for such a repository, starting with those already widely recognized and used as a basis for on-going experiments and products. We then detail some unforeseen requirements that are just emerging. Finally, we will analyze the impact of these requirements on information modelling inside and outside the repository. The analysis of requirements reveals some shortcomings of the SGML exchange model itself. An evolution towards the HyTime standard enables most of these shortcomings to be offset. For the repository internal model, we propose an object-oriented data model that meets most of the requirements."
This article was published in an SGML special issue of Computer Standards & Interfaces [The International Journal on the Development and Application of Standards for Computers, Data Communications and Interfaces], under the issue title SGML Into the Nineties. It was edited by Ian A. Macleod, of Queen's University.
"Abstract: As far as technical documentation or publishing is concerned, paper media is giving way to electronic media. The SGML exchange standard is gaining increasing importance. It is more particularly used to perform electronic technical publication exchanges between aircraft manufacturers and airlines. This standard allows the document tree logical structure to be described in a computer system-independent way. As the documents produced are usually of large size, highly structured and regularly updated, their manipulation calls for new systems: document management systems. In fact, a document repository and therefore an underlying database is necessary to support document utilization. An in-depth analysis of requirements allows this repository s main features to be defined. We focus on demonstrating how database technology, and more particularly object-oriented database technology, is helpful to develop such a system. We propose an object-oriented repository data model which allows most of the requirements to be met."
Abstract: "In the context of Document Management Systems, the notion of document is becoming less and less preponderant. A document corresponds to an assembly of information objects -- SGML or non SGML objects -- that may be shared by several documents. Moreover, these information objects are interconnected by various kinds of links.
"The conventional SGML Databases offer a good support for storing and manipulating collections of independent SGML documents. They have to evolve for managing a network of SGML and non-SGML documents, i.e., hypermedia documents. SGML allows to define inter-document links by using id/idref attributes and entity sharing. HyTime goes beyond the SGML limits concerning the hyperlinking features by offering the semantic to model complex links, such as a link from a document to a very precise location inside an other one. In order to offer all the functionalities necessary for managing hypermedia documents, SGML Databases must then take into account all the above constructs. The schema of these SGML databases consists in a tree structure representing the mapping of the SGML meta-model. But it has to evolve towards a graph structure for representing the HyTime hyperlinking model. This paper presents the principles to extend an SGML Database to an HyTime Database and the functionalities of a web interface to access to the documents stored in the database."
This paper is the result of a current collaboration between Aerospatiale Aircraft Business and the Research and Development Division of Electricité De France. This collaboration concerns a study and research project in the structured electronic document database field. Although the specific industrial contexts are different, numerous common requirements may be identified in this particular field and a large benefit may be expected from a common study. Aerospatiale and Electricité De France are two big French companies which produce respectively, aircrafts (Aerospatiale Aircraft Business) and electricity. Both need to manage a large amount of documentation in their own industrial context. As a consequence, a significant benefit is expected from powerfully computerized documents. [...] After presenting this study's industrial contexts, we succinctly present our approach for specifying an SGML database. Then, we focus on our strategy for evolving towards an HyTime hypermedia database. We show how we have chosen to implement this SGML/HyTime Database. Finally, we conclude by giving the progress status of our work and the main issues which remain to be studied in depth.
Note: The electronic conference proceedings in hypertext were produced by Inso Corporation (DynaText) and by High Text (EnLIGHTeN). Information about the SGML Europe '97 Conference may be found in the main database entry.
Abstract: "This paper proposes a model of a hypermedia repository based on both object technologies (specification method and Database Management System) and electronic document standards (SGML and HyTime).
"SGML is an ISO standard for document structuring. It guarantees document exchange capabilities, document longevity and document reusability. Object Database Management Systems fit well for complex document storage and access. However, every time a mapping between SGML and an object model is studied, many issues arise and only a part of them are solved. We propose a complete and generic object model of SGML which eliminates all the limits. Moreover, this model should stand for a universal model, i.e., it can be used as a standard API to plug any SGML visualizer or editor on top of an object repository.
"HyTime is also an ISO standard, based on SGML, so that it ensures exchange capabilities, longevity and reusability too. Moreover, HyTime goes beyond the SGML limits concerning the hyperlinking features by offering the semantics to model complex links, such as a link from a document to a very precise location inside another one. We describe how to extend our object model to the hyperlink features of HyTime. We give an overview of the prototype we have implemented to validate our approach."
For other conference information, see the main conference entry for EP '96, or the brief history of the conference as sixth in a series since 1986. See the volume main bibliographic entry for a linked list of other EP '96 titles relevant to SGML and structured documents.
"Abstract: SGML is an excellent tool or technology for implementing modular, reusable information and documentation - but technology and tools alone are not enough! Unless a new methodology is added, the end result of a typical SGML project may be that the users get instant access to enormous amounts of completely useless data (i.e. information pollution).
"The reason is that the basic units of information that we have been using for centuries - the chapter, the section, and the paragraph, are completely undefined in terms of what function and purpose the information has for the reader! Short and/or highly structured documents may be easy to describe in a meaningful way in a DTD - but if we are looking at typical business policies and procedures manuals they will often be just as structured as a bowl of spaghetti.
"This paper will introduce the Information Mapping(reg.trade mark) method. The method provides a complete hierarchy of information types or classes that can be used to produce modular, reusable information objects - all with a precisely defined purpose and function for the information users."
The document is available online in HTML format: "Object-oriented information" [mirror copy, December 1995]. For further details on the Conference and BeLux, see the contact information for SGML BeLux.
The author reports on the fourth annual meeting of the OmniMark Users Group, held in Boston, with some 200 people in attendance. OmniMark is strongly supporting the "microdocument architectures" paradigm in the new release of the company's flagship product. On OmniMark (formerly Exoterica Corporation) : see the OmniMark Home Page.
The author offers a positive review of this book, which appears in the Charles F. Goldfarb Series On Open Information Management, and is published by Prentice-Hall. It was begun by the late Yuri Rubinsky, and completed on Yuri's behalf by a Murray Maloney. The book is structured as a tutorial introduction to HTML and SGML, and used SoftQuad Inc.'s Panorama Pro SGML browser/searcher (supplied on the accompanying CDROM disc) to view the tutorial examples. Eric thinks the book is a "must-have" for SGML implementors. See further description of the book, including an online copy of the Preface and Table of Contents, via the bibliographic entry.
"Introduction: As the popularity of the World Wide Web (WWW) increases, a growing number of organizations are interested in distributing their data over the Internet. Some of this data is marked up using the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). The challenge of distributing SGML over the WWW involves converting structurally marked data into a less structured format for the presentation of the data. Two major issues that must be addressed when developing a system for the publication of SGML information over the Internet include the partitioning of large SGML documents and the transformation of elements." [from the Introduction]
The document is available from the online electronic Conference Proceedings, or in mirror copy here.
Summary: [The subject matter is] "discussed from the perspective of the National Digital Library Program at the Library of Congress, which implemented a TEI-based DTD in 1993. The National Digital Library Program at the Library of Congress is on an ambitious course to digitize millions of primary source items from a broad range of historical collections. The Library has been digitizing historical materials since 1990, when the American Memory pilot program developed collections, initially on CD-ROM, to explore the potential audiences, uses, and enthusiasm for digital resources on American history and culture.
"In developing our SGML document type definition (DTD), we confronted some hard choices and made what might be characterized as some very library-like decisions. [...] We didn't want to have to force different document types into a single content model. Nor did we want to have a baker's dozen of DTDs and match up every document with the best suited DTD, or require that kind of sophisticated decision making from data-entry technicians who were unlikely to possess the appropriate training. We knew that we would provide digital images of the original pages of text materials and that we wanted the texts to faithfully retain original errors.[. . .] In response to these issues, we sought to cultivate some creative and flexible middle ground. Little did we realize that we would find that middle ground in the TEI. There was an uncanny congruence between the encoding principles derived during the American Memory document analysis and the TEI guidelines. This should not be so surprising, however, since both projects were firmly rooted in the careful analysis of a broad range of humanities texts. Though LC staff did not expect to become TEI converts, we knew what we wanted and what types of capabilities we had to have. It could be argued that the unexpected result--great compatibility and congruence between the American Memory DTD and the TEI--underscores the appropriateness of the TEI gestalt for use in the humanities. The descriptive flexibility afforded by the TEI is profoundly important and, this author would argue, developing a digital library of historical materials in the humanities would be impossible without it.
The extended abstract for the document is available online: http://www.stg.brown.edu/webs/tei10/tei10.papers/friedland.html; [local archive copy]. See the main database entry for additional information about the conference, or the Brown University web site.
"Abstract: Electronic Book Technologies (EBT) Inc is adding Netscape Communications Corp's Frames capabilities to EBT's DynaWeb 2.0 server software. The aim is to leverage Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) document structure to the World Wide Web (WWW). Users will be able to store corporate data in SGML, translating on the fly to the HyperText Markup Language (HTML). SGML is an internationally accepted standard for representing data in electronic form, and HTML is a subset of SGML designed for the Web. The addition to DynaWeb 2.0, called FreeFrames, will let users publish HTML pages with multiple live windows. Customers are currently beta testing FreeFrames. A frames demo is set up on EBT's Web site at http://www.ebt.com."
Abstract: "To allow users to truly use the Web to construct personal information systems, users must be able to write their own applications to retrieve, massage, combine, and store information from Web servers. Information providers cannot know all the ways their information can be used; that is determined by the collectivity of users. If users cannot write their own applications, then Web access will remain a tedious and manual process. After describing two small applications we show that the Web architecture, based on HTML, a display-oriented language for describing pictures, does not support client applications very well; the structure and marking of a page does not describe its information in a way easily understood by software. Nevertheless, because the information is mostly textual and was designed to convey that information to a human, it is often possible to retrieve needed information from a page. We describe our implementation, written in Scheme, which queries pages using set predicates, extracts information, and uses that to query further Web pages. Extensions of this approach can combine this information with the clients other local resources. Finally, the same tools are applicable to more sophisticated markup systems, arch as SGML or its Web-oriented offspring XML.
"To be published in HICSS31." The document is available online in Postscript format; [local archive copy]
Abstract: "The Internet provides a medium to combine human and computational entities together for ad hoc cooperative transactions. To make this possible, there must be a framework allowing all parties (human or other) to communicate with each other. The current framework makes a fundamental distinction between human agents (who use HTML) and computational agents, which use CORBA or COM. We propose domain-specific languages (DSLs) as a means to allow all kinds of agents to 'speak the same language'. In particular, we adopt some ideas (and syntax) from SGML/XML, especially the strict separation of syntax and semantics, so each agent in a collaboration is capable of applying a behavioral semantics appropriate to its role (buyer, seller, editor). We develop the example of a card game, where the syntax of the language itself implies some of the semantics of the game."
See also the following entry.
Abstract: "The Internet provides a medium to combine human and computational entities together for ad hoc cooperative transactions. To make this possible, there must be a framework allowing all parties (human or other) to communicate with each other. The current framework makes a fundamental distinction between human agents (who use HTML) and computational agents, which use CORBA or COM. We propose DSLs as a means to allow all kinds of agents to 'speak the same language.' In particular we adopt some ideas (and syntax) from SGML/XML, especially the strict separation of syntax and semantics, so each agent in a collaboration is capable of applying a behavioral semantics appropriate to its role (buyer, seller, editor). We develop the example of a card game, where the syntax of the language itself implies some of the semantics of the game."
"We have relied heavily on SGML, the Standard Generalized Markup Language, as the metagrammar for defining our various DSLs. SGML has some important characteristics which make it a candidate for the role: 1) It is an existing international standard already used to mark up terabytes of information, much of which may be interesting for the kinds of applications under consideration. 2) Although rather complex, a number of parsers are available. XML, a simplified version of SGML designed for Web delivery is designed to be simple to parse. 3) It is LL(1), as we will discuss later. 4) Most important, SGML was designed to enable a complete break between syntax and semantics through its promulgation of logical, or descriptive, markup. 5) SGML is also the metagrammar in which HTML is defined, so it will look familiar to people who have read Web document sources."
Available online in HTML format: http://cs.nyu.edu/phd_students/fuchs/dsl.html; [local archive copy]. To be published in the Proceedings of the Domain Specific Languages Workshop, held in October, 1997. Also in Postscript or Postscript, gzip, [local archive copy].
Abstract: "Multi-user distributed applications running on heterogeneous networks must be able to display user interface components on several platforms. In wide-area public networks, such as the Internet, the mix of platforms and participants in an application will occur dynamically; the user interface will need to coexist with environments completely uncontrolled by the designer. We have dealt with this issue by considering user interfaces as a kind of document specifying the application's requirements and adopting SGML technology to process them locally. This approach provides new flexibility, with implications for the design of network browsers, such as those of the World Wide Web, and leads to an interesting class of active documents."
This article was published in an SGML special issue of Computer Standards & Interfaces [The International Journal on the Development and Application of Standards for Computers, Data Communications and Interfaces], under the issue title SGML Into the Nineties. It was edited by Ian A. Macleod, of Queen's University.
Available on the Internet in Postscript format: g'zipped version: http://cs.nyu.edu/phd_students/fuchs/sgml.ps.gz, [mirror copy].
Abstract: "We consider the syntax and semantics of the TL (Transformation Language)in the DSSSL (Document Style Semantics and Specification Language) specification (DSSSL96). At present TEs (Transformation Expressions) are less than first-class language objects - they must all reside at the top level, and cannot be manipulated like other DSSSL/Scheme objects. In particular, there is no means of passing information among TEs, so one TE cannot take advantage of information derived by another, such as passing data about parent nodes to direct the transformation of child nodes. We propose extending the DSSSL syntax to allow a DSSSL program to better exploit the tree-like nature of the source grove by providing a semantics for nesting query expressions, allowing information to be passed around while retaining DSSSL's functional nature. The TEs would also come closer to being first-class objects. We suggest these extensions will make DSSSL programs easier to write and probably easier to optimize."
An online version of the presentation is available: "Why Isn't DSSSL a Tree?", in SGML format; [mirror copy]
Note: The above presentation was part of the "SGML Expert" track at SGML '96. The SGML '96 Conference Proceedings volume containing the full text of the paper may be obtained from GCA.
Reports on LivePage, by Information Atrium Inc. Various components in rthe SGML system allow for storage of documents (document objects?) in relational databases.
"Abstract: Several research document manipulation systems have combined an interactive direct-manipulation style of use interface with a grammatically-specified structured document representation. These systems have demonstrated that the two concepts can be combined, but have not yet demonstrated that the resulting systems are usable when manipulating large or complexly-structured documents. The paper discusses some of the characteristics of such complicated documents and suggests possible approaches for handling the resulting issues. Primary attention is focussed on structurally complex documents, with additional discussion on the management of large-sized documents and on the handling of specification errors."
The dissertation is also available as Technical Report Number 86-09-08, Department of Computer Science, University of Washington. See also a related document published as a conference paper.
Abstract: "Integrated Editor/Formatters merge the document editing and formatting functions into a unified, interactive system. A common type of Integrated Editor/Formatter, the Exact-representation Editor/Formatter (also known as WYSIWYG), presents an interactive representation of the document that is identical to the printed document. Another powerful metaphor applied to documents has been to describe the document as abstract objects -- to describe the document's logical structure, not its physical makeup. The goal of the research reported here is to merge the flexibility found in the abstract object-oriented approach with the naturalness of document manipulation provided by the Exact-representation Editor/Formatters. A tree-based model of documents that allows a variety of document objects as leaves (e.g., text, tables, and mathematical equations) has been defined. I suggest a template-oriented mechanism for manipulating the document and have implemented a prototype that illustrates the mechanism. Further work has concentrated on handling user operations on arbitrary, contiguous portions of the display."
Abstract: "Document preparation systems that are oriented to an author's preparation of printed material must permit the flexible specification, modification, and reuse of the contents of the document. Interactive document preparation systems commonly have incorporated simple representations -- an unconstrained linear list of document objects in the `What You See Is What You Get' (WYSIWYG) systems. Recent research projects have been directed at the interactive manipulation of richer tree-oriented representations in which object relationships are constrained through grammatical specification. The advantage of such representations is the increased flexibility that they provide in the reusability of the document and its components and the more powerful user commands that they permit. We report on the experience gained from the design of two such systems. Although the two systems were designed independently of each other, a common set of issues, representations, and techniques has been identified. An important component of these projects has been to examine the WYSIWYG user interface, retaining the naturalness of their user interface but eliminating their dependencies on the physical-page representation. Aspects of the design of such systems remain open for further research. We describe these open research problems and indicate some of the further gains that may be achievable through investigation of these document representations." [published abstract]
The article discusses prototype systems tnt and Grif, with some treatment of SGML's influence upon these editing systems.
Abstract: "The Electronic Library Project was lunched to study the limits of new technologies like ODBMS (Object Database Management System), SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) / HyTime (Hypermedia/Time-based Structuring Language) structuring and a Web access interface. The result is better than any estimation we could have made. Interactive XML (EXtensible Markup Language) generation is feasible. The submitted talk is as much oriented towards a concrete demonstration as towards the conceptual explanation of the prototype."
This paper was delivered as part of the "User" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: "During the period of time since the inception of MIL-PRF-87269 and MIL-PRF-87268, vendors have been developing and delivering 'MIL-PRF-87269 compliant' SGML instances to the DoD (Department of Defense) as line item deliverables under various system acquisition/maintenance contracts. Many of these SGML instances have been developed with a limited understanding of the specific information engineering requirements set forth in MIL-PRF-87269. In the absence of this understanding non-conforming IETM (Interactive Electronic Technical Manual) instances have been or are being accepted by the DoD. This has happened partially because there has been no contractual basis to support rejection. This in turn has led to some IETM providers believing that they are creating a fully conforming product when in fact their offerings may have fallen short of what the specification intended.
"It should be noted that the problems encountered with IETM implementation do not stem from any major deficiency in the MIL-PRF-87269 specification. On the contrary, MIL-PRF-87269 and its accompanying implementation guide clearly express a simple but elegant IETM traversement concept.
"This paper reviews the powerful information modeling and information exchange concepts contained in MIL-PRF-87269, and describes how well they fit with existing object-oriented analysis and design methodologies. The MIL-PRF-87269 generic layer architectural forms are discussed in terms of Class 2,3,4 and 5 ETM, ICW and IETM development and their relationship to procedural traversement data modeling. An object-oriented analysis and design approach is offered for interoperable ETM, ICW and IETM content data modeling beginning with the analysis of the users' existing old physical model, the construction of logicalized content data model object classes, the enhancement of logicalized content model object classes with inherited traversement behavior, and finally the implementation of the traversement rules enhanced content data model for ETM, ICW and IETM development. Configuration management and version control issues are addressed as an essential and embedded part of the object-oriented content data modeling approach. The proper use of parameter entities in the creation of re-usable modular DTDs is explained. Issues are raised and strategies are offered regarding the creation and/or adoption of mnemonics and nomenclature related to the naming and name space management and cataloging of information objects and rich content tagged general entities. Finally, the benefits of the object-oriented content modeling approach are revealed in terms of IETM instance acquisition, development and acceptance quality, and in terms of the interoperability that can be achieved among instances through a consolidated ETM, IETM and ICW information server."
This paper was delivered as part of the "IETM" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).
Abstract: "Nortel is a large, international telecommunications company, with 68,000 employees, whose documentation needs are diverse and changing. Implementation of SGML in a cross-corporate fashion introduces the difficulty of meeting separate user requirements while still maintaining a level of control over document structures. Using SGML architectures confronts this by defining the relationships between diverse document types, allowing for more effective interchange of cross-corporate information. This information interchange is further enabled by generic tools that can operate on documents conforming to specific classes. This paper highlights the activities of a team tasked with implementing SGML architectures, and describes some of the technical challenges involved. In particular, we show how implementation of architectures relates to the broader area of object-oriented design. We also describe a generic transformation tool written to facilitate interchange."
This paper was delivered as part of the "Expert" track in the SGML/XML '97 Conference.
Note: The SGML/XML '97 conference proceedings volume is available from the Graphic Communications Association, 100 Daingerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-2888; Tel: +1 (703) 519-8160; FAX: +1 (703) 548-2867. Complete information about the conference (e.g., program listing, tutorials, show guide, DTDs, conference reports) is provided in the dedicated conference section of the SGML/XML Web Page and via the GCA Web server. The electronic proceedings on CDROM was produced courtesy of Jouve Data Management (Jouve PubUser).