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A clear business case is essential to success in many SGML environments. The Business Case document is the key to obtaining management support, staff resources, and funding. More importantly, it provides the requirements that guide purchasing and design decisions; the justification to exclude attractive but peripheral tasks; and a basis against which progress and success can be evaluated. Material to be covered in an SGML Business Case includes costs, money savings, quality improvements, impact on current systems and staff, and a high-level implementation plan.
Introduces SGML with an emphasis on Document Analysis. The class takes students through the basics of SGML implementation including: What SGML is and how it is used; Potential Applications of SGML; Where SGML is, and is not, applicable in an organization; Impact of SGML; Managing SGML-related change; and Document Analysis and Information Modeling. Syntax is not covered explicitly in this course.
Are you new to SGML? Or a little "rusty"? Considering an SGML implementation? Attendees learn what SGML is, what SGML can do, and what SGML can't do. Emphasis is on understanding the commitments placed on an organization implementing SGML. An SGML implementation system is demonstrated with data created in multiple environments, imported into SGML and exported to multiple environments. SGML syntax is avoided.
Introduction to
SGML/XML Nitty-Gritty (Revised
10/21)[index]
B. Tommie Usdin
and Dennis J. O'Connor, Mulberry Technologies
Provides the SGML/XML novice with an understanding of the
basic terminology, concepts, and syntax of SGML and XML. Students
learn what SGML and XML are, how they are used and how they fit
into the world of documents and writing. A brief introduction to
SGML/XML markup teaches about using pointy brackets, and a short
study of the syntax teaches where they come from and what they
really represent. Students learn how document types are defined
using SGML and see the power and flexibility of using SGML and
XML. SGML, XML, and HTML are compared and contrasted. Finally, a
survey of more advanced SGML/XML topics and terms shows what else
is out there to discover!
Gives newcomers and implementors a model for the SGML publishing system and an understanding of key system components. First a model for the SGML publishing system is presented. Then an overview of the major classes of SGML tools and a brief review of the products commercially available today are presented using the publishing system model as a point of reference.
Many companies are required to deliver documentation to customers electronically. As a significant step in solving Electronic Document Delivery (EDD) issues, the telecommunications industry has developed an interchange DTD and a packaging guideline that provide a common "language" for expressing document content and logical structure. Documents created on any system may be translated to this "language" by document producers, and from this "language" to any display or production system by document recipients. Although the interchange DTD and packaging guideline were designed by telecommunications industry, they are general enough to be directly used or slightly modified to meet EDD requirements in other industries as well.
Every documentation system needs document management. Whether it takes the form of a full-featured system that runs under an object-oriented database management engine, or is as fundamental as a network file system. SGML has grown to a point where document management systems are finally available for implementation. The question is, "Which one?" This tutorial will give you an overview of the issues surrounding document management systems in an SGML environment, and a basic understanding of the various options available for purchase. Based on that information, you will be better suited to ask the right questions of your document management system vendor.
XML
for the SGML-Knowledgeable
(Formerly XML, SGML, HTML and the Relationship Among Them)[index]
Eve Maler, ArborText
Objective: This tutorial will describe
Extensible Markup Language (XML) in the context of SGML. We will
cover the differences between the two and the reasons behind the
differences, as well as the changes being made in the SGML
standard to accommodate Web concerns. We will also discuss the
current state of Extensible Linking Language (XLL) and Extensible
Style Language (XSL), along with their relationship to HTML and
CSS. Copies of the latest Working Drafts and proposals will be
distributed.Expected audienceSGML users, DTD developers, and
application developers who want to know about XML and who
haven’t read the specs (or net traffic) in depth yet.
Prerequisites: Understanding of medium-complexity SGML terms and
concepts (such as “GI,” “declared value,” and
“SGML feature”).
Introduces the key concepts in HyTime, including hyperlinking, addressing, architectures, groves, and property sets. Students learn what HyTime is, what added value it provides as a standard, where it fits in relation to other standards such as XML, and how it might apply to the challenges they face in their own use of SGML. The lecture includes many examples of HyTime documents and demonstrations of HyTime-based tools. Discussion of syntax details is avoided: the focus is on concepts. Students should have a basic understanding of SGML concepts but need not be versed in SGML syntax.
Introduces the concepts and formatting basics of the Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL) using the James' Awesome DSSSL Engine (JADE) program. Primarily using the RTF back-end implemented in JADE, this course covers the fundamental mechanisms utilized throughout the formatting component of DSSSL. Practical exercises reinforce the lecture, so attendees must bring a computer running Windows 95 or Windows NT for use in class. Light programming skills and knowledge of SGML concepts and syntax recommended.
SGML and XML are the strategic technology to build an Intranet. SGML can not only help you in dealing with the new buzzword technologies of the moment -'groupware and intranets'-but will also help insulate you from the booms and busts of the hot new products ready to drop in your lap in the future. SGML can better organize your information and resources through SGML applications which maximize payback from investment in a Intranet.
All aspects of an SGML implementation will be covered. Topics include: a description of the SGML environment, the SGML application, implementation planning, system selection, information conversion, SGML data management, the SGML environment, information re-use, document analysis, data migration and SGML Application Development. Emphasis will be placed on describing all pieces of an SGML implementation and showing how they can fit together to form a complete solution.
Conversion is a very important part of most SGML implementations. Virtually every company implementing SGML has legacy data, or some kind of input from a non-SGML source. This course covers the issues surrounding the conversion of legacy data into SGML. Offshore keying, scanning, auto-tagging, programming for electronic conversion, conversion management, batching, and conversion estimating. This course is done using a "Tag Team" approach with three conversion specialists talking about their methods of converting from word processing to SGML, from SGML to other deliverables like XML, HTML, or CD-ROM products, and conversion from industry-standard DTDs to proprietary structures and back. Plenty of real-world material will be presented.
A systematic method of comparing and judging SGML software is presented and applied to a sample range of programs (commercial and free) which handle different aspects of SGML processing. The systems covered are in the areas of document type design, text entry and editing, formatting, conversion, storage, retrieval, distribution, and publishing. Upon completion of this course attendees will be able to define criteria for tool evaluation and evaluate tools objectively using measurable criteria.
The components of the SGML Declaration are introduced and examples demonstrate the use and effect of each. In numerous exercises, attendees modify, examine, and parse sample Declarations, DTDs, and Instances so they can see the effect of each component of the Declaration. Attendees should bring a computer running Windows 3.x, Windows 95, or Windows NT. This course provides a solid technical grounding in the makeup and use of the SGML declaration, and the comprehensive notes and examples provided as the course material constitute a valuable reference.
The full power of DSSSL's Query Language allows for sophisticated preprocessing of SGML structures during Style Language processing, as well as being central to the Transformation Language. In this advanced tutorial, which assumes a basic understanding of DSSSL, students will learn how to exploit the power of the Query Language, and are introduced to the Transformation Language and how it works.
Friday, December 12:
A
Hands-On Guided Tour of 'A Proposal for XSL' [index]
Henry S. Thompson
'A Proposal for XSL' (http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-XSL.html) was submitted to the W3C by its authors at the end of August 1997. It contains a detailed proposal for an approach to providing DSSSL- and CSS-compatible style sheets for XML documents, and has already generated tremendous interest. Software supporting a substantial part of the proposal will be available by the time of SGML '97. This tutorial will provide an in-depth tour of the concepts and mechanisms in the proposal, and an example-based hands-on introduction to some of the by-then available software.
The tutorial will cover Requirements for XSL; The central idea of the proposal: template-based style rules using XML itself as the notation; The pattern language: how to identify elements in style rules; The rendering language: how to describe the desired appearance; The expression language (based on JavaScript): when computation is required Relations with DSSSL and CSS: upgrade and migration paths Available tools: 1) Jade support for DSSSL enhancements 2) XSLJ: XSL implemented via Jade plus another anticipated tool, un-named at press time; Software will be available, so bring your Windows 95/NT portables!
Please note that 'A Proposal for XSL' is just that, a proposal, and has not been endorsed or adopted in any way by W3C. The main purpose of this tutorial is to enable people to become informed contributors to the development of a standard for XSL.
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