SGML: I4I S4-Desktop 2.1
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 19:02:00 -0500
From: Michel Vulpe
To: robin@ACADCOMP.SIL.ORG
Reply-to: mvulpe@i4i.org
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PRESS CONTACT: Infrastructure for Information, Inc.
Julie A. Mousel
S4-Desktop 2.1 847/291-1616, x276 S&S Public Relations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SGML TOOL AUTOMATES DOCUMENT
PUBLISHING Creating And Distributing Large Documents With New Tool Can
Save
Thousands Of Dollars
TORONTO, ON, CANADA
Infrastructures for Information, Inc. has announced a desktop edition of
its Standard SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) Support System
(S4). S4-Desktop V2.1, shipping Jan. 15, 1997, lets systems developers,
integrators, OEMs and VARs make their existing desktop applications SGML
compliant without replacing the entire information infrastructure of the
program. "We see SGML playing a much larger role in data management
because SGML has ability to deal with data structures and classes of
data that SQL can't deal with efficiently," said
Michel Vulpe, president and founder of Infrastructure for Information,
Inc.
SGML is a standardized language that applies "tags" to various types of
data. Standardized SGML reader applications can view tagged text as if
it had been formatted for printing. To demonstrate the versatility of
SGML, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), a subset of SGML, is the
standard markup language for Internet Web documents. SGML provides
additional power and capability. "Automating the design and publication
of extensive technical manuals, or other long form documents, has
literally saved our customers countless hours of design time, and
thousands of dollars," Vulpe continued. "One customer, for example, has
reduced its
time-to-market by 25%," noted Vulpe. "Others have been able to automate
the publication of materials onto CD-ROM, for use by remote technicians
or salespeople, or for display over a company's network," Vulpe added.
S4-Desktop, a real-time SGML language processor, is delivered as
middleware. SGML code produced by S4-Desktop can be embedded in existing
product such as word processors, composition tools, databases, forms
packages and electronic review applications. This means that users have
an integrated SGML development environment that makes full use of
existing desktop technology, so that nothing on the existing desktop
need be replaced. The S4-Desktop API implementation includes over 90
function calls to support SGML tag searching and navigation, attribute
searching and navigation, hypertext navigation and contact extraction.
Automatic detection and tagging automate the process of data and text
publishing.
S4-Desktop V2.1 is made up of two distinct software layers. The SGML
Application Server, the foundation of S4-Desktop, provides SGML parsing
services through its own API. The second layer, the S4-Desktop itself,
provides SGML services to
calling applications through its high-level API. S4-Desktop provides a
wide variety of services. DTD services provide direct access to the SGML
Document Type Definition (DTD) and to the structure of the document or
"SGML instance." Data initialization services furnish a mechanism for
importing an SGML instance into the S4 environment. Data extraction
services provide just the opposite ability. Navigation services let
users search an S4 instance for particular occurrences of either tags or
attributes. Metacode services allow users access to the "metacode maps"
for instances. Each document in S4 is comprised of, at the very least,
content and a metacode map, which is the structure of the content. When
the content is text, content and metacode map are merged to create an
SGML instance (a data stream with embedded tags and attributes). Because
structure and content are maintained as separate, multiple maps can be
applied to a single content object and the content can retain its
original format. Content model services, which are SGML sensitive and
perform rule checking as required, let users manipulate instances by
structure. Finally, annotation services provide a way of associating
textural annotations with SGML elements. S4 manages associations for the
user and can search for and retrieve annotations as needed.
The S4-Desktop Developer's Package also includes a number of sample
applications. These include a set of Word macros that allow the use of
MS-Word as the composition engine; an SGML browser GUI using Borland's
Delphi 4GL and an Adobe Exchange Plug-In that automates the process of
redoing SGML hotlinks and TOCs into PDF files.
S4-Desktop V2.1 is delivered as a set of DLLs in the Windows
environment, and as a set of shared libraries in the Macintosh and UNIX
environments. It costs $1,500 for the Developers License Fee plus $149
Run Time charge per seat. Three
versions (a 16-bit and a 32-bit version for the PC and a Macintosh
version) are available.
# # # # For more information visit the company's Web site at
www.i4i.org.
Infrastructures for Information, Inc. (i4i), a Toronto-based software
developer, specializes in information manufacturing and management
technology. S4, the company's flagship product, has been embedded in
numerous systems including document management, PDM, multimedia,
workflow and Internet applications. i4i's roster of customers includes
Dorling Kindersley, the U.S. Air Force, IBM, Xerox, NASA, Newbridge
Networks, Inc., and The Getty Trust.
Infrastructure for Information recently received the Smithsonian
Computer Innovation Award.
--
Infrastructures for Information Inc.
344 Bloor St. West, Suite 400
Toronto, Ont. M5S 3A7
416.920.6489 (voice) 416.920.6493 (fax)
mvulpe@i4i.org
http://www.i4i.org