SGML: SGMLC-Lite free compiler available

Subject: PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT: SGMLC-Lite free compiler available
Date: 2 Apr 1996 14:57:55 GMT
From: bruce@sgml.dircon.co.uk (Bruce Hunter)
Newsgroups: comp.text.sgml
Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset=US-ASCII
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The 16-bit SGMLC-Lite free compiler for MS-Windows is now available
from http://www.dircon.co.uk/sgml. A 32-bit version will be
available soon from the same source. Unix and Mac versions are still
some way off, I'm afraid.

If you've ever wondered how you can actually use your SGML documents
for anything other than loading into an SGML editor, then SGMLC might
just provide the answer. Ever struggled to process the output of
SGMLS with a PERL script, or, even worse, process an SGML document
with Perl, Awk, C or whatever? Now there's no need anymore.

SGMLC is a language designed for processing SGML documents. It is
based upon the C language, with some elements of C++. It recognises
events which occur when processing an SGML document. You then provide
the code to tell the application how to process the event. Some of
the events recognised are :

    starting up the SGMLC application;

    opening an SGML document;

    reading the SGML Prolog (SGML Declaration plus DTD);

    finding the start or end of an element;

    finding an external data entity reference;

    finding an SDATA entity reference;

    finding a processing instruction;

    receiving a DDE command from another application;

    encountering an SGML parser error;

    encountering a runtime program error.

The SGMLC language contains a large number of functions specifically
designed for processing SGML data structures. Variables which are
local to elements but also accessible from child elements or
functions is also especially useful in processing SGML documents.

Also, although the inbuilt functions are pretty comprehensive, if you
need to do something for which there is no inbuilt function, the C
language interface allows you to call functions defined in external
DLLs.

SGMLC may be used, for example, for :

    writing SGML transformation applications, for converting SGML
    documents into some other form;

    extracting selected bits of information from an SGML document;

    creating semantic parsers, where you need to check more than just
    the SGML conformance of a document (for example, that a CDATA
    attribute conforms to a defined criteria);

    creating SGML browser and IETM applications, via the SGMLC-View
    add-on library;

    formatting and printing SGML documents into various output
    formats (PostScript, PDF, HPGL, etc.), again via the SGMLC-View
    library.

The resulting compiled applications are freely distributable. There
is a free SGMLC RunTime processor, which processes compiled rules
files.  This is also freely distributable. So, if you are an SGML
service provider, your customers no longer need to buy any expensive
licences just to run programs that they have already paid you to
write for them.

There are also several free and not-free add-on applications,
including a Viewer library which allows the development of SGML
browser application, including support for complex tables and
mathematics. The top-of-the-range SGMLC compiler includes an
interactive application development environment, with program editor,
debugger, breakpoints, step-through execution, watch windows, etc.
etc.

Some of the free products coming soon include :

    a CALS table validator and viewer, conforming to the latest SGML
    Open recommendations on CALS Table Interoperability;

    a CALS table to WMF conversion tool;

    PLUS - we are open to suggestions for other ideas for providing
    free applications for common SGML document processing problems.

If you need to do ANY processing of SGML documents, you need to
check out our home page at http://www.dircon.co.uk/sgml

regards,

Bruce Hunter