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SGML
is Alive, Growing, Evolving! |
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[Archive copy mirrored from the URL: http://www.gca.org/conf/sgml97/index.htm; see this canonical version of the document.]
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SGML
is Alive, Growing, Evolving! |
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SGML applications are increasingly sophisticated, appearing in more environments, and handling an ever-wider variety of information. At SGML/XML'97, users will be discussing their applications, developers will show off their tools, and experts will teach and learn.
XML, a subset of SGML optimized for the World Wide Web, was introduced at SGML'96. At SGML/XML'97, we will learn how it has evolved, see XML tools and demonstrations, and hear about early XML implementations.
SGML/XML'97 will feature the largest Exhibition of SGML and XML products ever assembled and will introduce the New Technology Nursery, a showcase for free tools and products in development.
Popular features repeated from previous conferences will include:
SGML/XML’97 will include presentations geared for a variety of people. Which type of SGML/XML’97 attendee are you?
Newcomer
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User
|
Expert
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Copyright © 1997, Graphic Communications Association
100 Daingerfield Road
Alexandria, VA 22314-2888
Ph: +1 703-519-8160
Fax: +1 703-548-2867
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.
Provides the SGML novice with an understanding of the basic terminology and concepts of SGML. Students learn what SGML is, how it is used and how it fits into the world of documents and writing. A brief introduction to SGML markup teaches about using pointy brackets, and a short study of SGML 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. Finally, a survey of more advanced SGML topics and terms shows what else is out there to discover! SGML syntax is introduced.
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.
An overview of XML (Extensible Markup Language) is followed by detailed descriptions of the SGML features that are included and excluded, the XML Link facility, and XML stylesheets. A technical comparison of XML to both SGML and HTML emphasizes the strengths of each and the situations in which each is most appropriate. Automation of conversion among HTML, XML, and SGML is discussed. Technical knowledge of SGML is recommended.
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.
Return to the SGML/XML '97 index page | Return
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Copyright © 1997, Graphic Communications Association
100 Daingerfield Road
Alexandria, VA 22314-2888
Ph: +1 703-519-8160
Fax: +1 703-548-2867
Monday
9:00 am- 9:15 am
Welcome
9:15 am- 9:45 am
View from the Chair
B. Tommie Usdin, Mulberry Technologies
9:45 am- 10:30 am
Keynote
The Role of Text in Digital
Libraries
William Y. Arms, Corporation for National Research
Initiatives
10:30 - 10:50
SGML & XML from 10,000 Feet
Charles F. Goldfarb; Information Management Consulting
10:50 - 11:00
Guide to the Conference
Deborah A. Lapeyre; Mulberry Technologies and
C.M. Sperberg-McQueen, University of
Illinois at Chicago
11:00 am - 12:45 pm
Break and Poster Session
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Newcomer Track
2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Tools for Implementing SGML-Based
Information Systems
Diane, Kennedy, SGML Resource Center; Steve
Pepper, STEP; Kurt Conrad,
Sagebrush Group; Linda Burman, LA Burman
Associates
Implementing SGML can be an enormous task. Success requires good
technical background in SGML and a clear understanding of data
flow and SGML system functionality. Understanding of the key
components of an SGML system is critical. This afternoon's
presentations are designed to provide the SGML newcomer with an
overview of the major classes of SGML tools and a brief review of
the products commercially available today. New XML Tools will be
highlighted. Presenters for this session are independent SGML
consultants, not tool vendor representatives.
User Track
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Straight Answers on XML
Jon Bosak, Sun; Tim Bray,
Textuality, Canada; Eve Maler, ArborText
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a dialect of SGML
designed for ease of implementation and for interoperability with
both SGML and HTML. A lot of hope (and a lot of hype) hang on the
promises of XML. This Question and Answer forum addresses the
concerns of users, who may find themselves, as knowledgeable
SGMLers, asking and answering questions about XML. What is XML?
What isn't it? Are the dreadful rumors true? The spectacular
ones? Questions may be submitted in advance by email to
<sgml97@mulberrytech.com>.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK
User/Case Study Track
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Ready for Tomorrow's Browsers:
The News Production System of The Wall Street Journal Interactive
Edition
Alan Karben, The Wall Street Journal Interactive
Edition
Using SGML within the Web publishing system not only allows The
Wall Street Journal to create better-looking and more complicated
HTML than editors could otherwise have authored using a native
formatting language, but it also allows our editors and designers
to massage the look of the edition as often as desired, and to
produce spin-off products without additional editorial effort.
This architectural overview describes how our publishing system
offers editors a tremendous menu of publish-time choices.
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
Three XML implementations in use
at Shell International
Lynn Labieniec, RivCom, England
XML has been used in three projects by Shell International to
deliver structured information to the desktop. While the projects
involved different kinds of information and had individual
requirements, one common requirement was the need to deliver
highly structured information in an accessible and easily
navigable form to users world-wide. The solution adopted for all
three projects was to store core data in the form of XML files,
which could be accessed by the user via corporate Intranet,
CD-ROM, or local hard drive. The user's view of the data is
provided by a specially designed plug-in to Netscape. This
session will consider how well those projects met their criteria
for success.
User/Technical Track
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
SGML on the Web: A Tale of Two
Intranets
Joshua Lubell, NIST
Although SGML provides flexibility and reuse lacking in HTML,
SGML alone does not address the problems of maintaining on-line
document repositories. A system combining SGML, database
technology, and the protocols of the web can provide a reasonably
robust Intranet environment. This presentation compares two
possible Intranet designs employing SGML: 1) Dynamic HTML
generated from SGML database queries and 2) Static HTML generated
from SGML-conforming HTML are compared across the design
objectives of ease of data creation, ease of maintenance, context
sensitive searching, and accessibility to web search engines.
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
The Power of Parameter Entities
Michael J. Iantosca, IBM Corporation
IBM shares common file, text, and character entity declarations
across far flung operations using little more than flat files and
the facilities that SGML (through parameter entities), catalogs,
and HyTime (through conloc) provide. The key is placing parameter
entity declarations and their references within the DTD subset of
each document instance to imbed collections of entity
declarations that are reused in multiple document instances (and
whose contents change frequently). Selective content from these
entities can then be reused by the reference conloc feature of
HyTime (content location addressing).
Expert Track
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
What SGML-based Software for the
Visually-Impaired Can Teach the Next Generation of Interface
Designers
Gilles Marichal and Michael Leventhal,
both of GRIF, France
MATHS (Mathematical Access for Technology and Science) is a
recently completed project of the European Community which
developed a SGML-based computer-oriented approach to teaching
mathematics to visually-impaired students. A document-oriented
architecture was implemented which permitted the software to be
used by sighted, low-vision, and blind students and which
supported multiple interactive input methods. SGML permitted the
implementation of an application specific to mathematics,
supported the input, output and interaction modes defined in the
architecture, and enabled implementation with an existing SGML
editor relatively quickly. In addition to describing the
architecture of MATHS and its encoding of mathematics in SGML,
ways to relate our results to the general problem of the design
of computer application interfaces are suggested.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Strategies for DSSSL Code Reuse
Paul Prescod and Michael McCool,
both of University of Waterloo, Canada
The DSSSL Style Language is the International Standard for
specifying a formatting procedure for a document. DSSSL
stylesheets can be simple declarative specifications of
formatting to be applied to elements, but they can also be
complex computer programs. When they are complex, code reuse can
reduce development time and increase reliability. Mechanisms for
reusing code across document types and for designing style
specifications to be useful both on the web and in print have
been explored. Among the techniques evaluated and experimented
with are simple templates, multi-stage transformations, HyTime
architectural forms, and a convention called "pseudo flow
object" constructors. These strategies are compared, and
future directions for development and some extensions to DSSSL to
make code reuse easier are proposed.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
DTD Transformation by Patterns
and Contextual Conditions
Makoto Murata, Fuji Xerox Information Systems, Japan
DTD transformation using tools based on the theory of tree
automata are described. Controlled by patterns (conditions on
descendant nodes) and contextual conditions (conditions on
ancestors, siblings, and descendants of siblings), operators can
transform not only SGML instances, but the DTDs which govern
them. Transformations of SGML instances permitted by the input
DTD are guaranteed to conform to the output DTD. Such tools can
help manage DTD evolution, keep document instances synchronized
with an evolving DTD, develop transformations between unrelated
DTDs, and guarantee that SGML-to-SGML transformations produce
documents which actually conform to the target DTD.
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
SGML Extended Facilities
Charles F. Goldfarb, Information Management Consulting
The SGML Extended Facilities, part of ISO/IEC 10744:1997 (HyTime
Second Edition) add significant functionality to SGML. This
technical introduction to the SGML Extended Facilities will
cover: Lexical Types, Architectural Forms, Property Sets, General
Architecture, Formal System Identifiers, and SGML Property Sets.
Return to the SGML/XML '97 index page | Return
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Register for SGML/XML '97
Copyright © 1997, Graphic Communications Association
100 Daingerfield Road
Alexandria, VA 22314-2888
Ph: +1 703-519-8160
Fax: +1 703-548-2867
Tuesday
Newcomer Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Welcome to the SGML Fun House
Janis Allison Keough, The Bureau of National Affairs
A Carnival Fun House is used as a metaphor for implementing SGML
for the first time. The presentation describes the three main
areas in the fun house, the hazards presented in each, and some
tips for surviving the experience: The Dark Hallway (Document
Analysis), The Mirror Room (DTD writing), and The Last Great
Scare (data markup, including legacy conversion and training
users to mark up data).
9:15 am - 10:00 am
XML: Is it SGML lite, HTML++, or
can it be both?
Sebastian Holst, Inso
What does "XML support" really mean? Is XML the next
generation HTML, markup suitable for delivery only? Is it a
manageable replacement for SGML? Is its impact felt more
profoundly on the client-side or the server? Can it be all things
to all people? XML-enhanced infrastructures will offer no
material improvements over current systems if there is confusion
regarding XML's proper role. This presentation will 1) provide a
five minute cheat sheet outlining the high level components of
XML, their functional scope, their mapping to SGML, HyTime, and
DSSSL, and their current approval status; 2) review existing or
anticipated applications which each of these components promise,
highlighting the different kinds of value each should offer; and
3) examine current submissions to the W3C (by Microsoft,
Netscape, Sun, etc.) which have been expressed as XML
applications.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
Designing a Structured Authoring
System
Karl F. Best, Adobe
The design goals of an authoring system for structured documents,
the criteria and goals for tool selection, the place of SGML,
HTML, and XML in such a system, and the importance of document
analysis for the purposes of creating or selecting DTDs and
formatting style sheets are described. The presentation is
intended for people attending the conference for the first time
who come wanting to learn about XML, and would benefit from
hearing about structured authoring environments in general and
how SGML, HTML, and XML fit into the picture.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Conversion Strategies: A How-to
Guide
Mark Gross, Data Conversion Laboratory
There are two common, but unfortunate, responses when companies
are confronted by a need to do a legacy conversion to SGML:
freezing in fear and doing nothing, or jumping in head-first and
creating a disaster. Obviously, there are better ways to react.
This presentation discusses how to develop an effective and
realistic data conversion strategy. Among the issues considered
are whether to do it in-house or to out-source, selecting a DTD,
developing a workable conversion schedule, writing a conversion
specification, performing quality assurance testing, integrating
the converted data into the document management system, and
arriving at a conversion plan.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Using Relational Data in SGML
Tom Comerford, Microstar Software
The storage of certain tabular data in a relational database is
advocated rather than in an SGML-tagged document (document
instance). The core of the presentation will include strategies
for integrating relational data in an SGML instance and for
automating the process of updating and delivering the information
content. Real-world data (such as a parts catalog) will be used
to illustrate the concepts.
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Newcomer Track
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
SGML as a Navigational Tool for
Accessing Information
Maureen Prettyman, National Library of Medicine
An SGML-based full-text retrieval system under development at the
National Library of Medicine provides a model for improved search
discrimination and navigation of a diverse collection of
biomedical information. This talk will focus on the benefits of
SGML as a tool for data organization and providing a roadmap to
the information in the retrieval system, as well as some of the
pitfalls and problems encountered.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
The SGML Puzzle - the Pieces and
How They Fit Together
Dennis J. O'Connor, Mulberry Technologies
SGML systems are composed of many components that fit together in
limited ways. Knowing what the pieces are and how they fit
together is essential to understanding and surviving in the SGML
environment. A graphical framework illustrating the pieces of an
SGML system and how they fit together will illustrate the
relationships. Further, the various standards for SGML and SGML
applications will be looked at in the context of the parts of an
SGML system that they define. Software applications will be
looked at in terms of where they fit into an SGML system,
including the pieces they create, manage, use, and revise.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK in Exhibit Hall
3:30 pm - 7:00 pm Exhibits
Newcomer/Public DTDs Track
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
How to Make an Industry Standard
DTD Work for You (without losing your mind, your marriage, or
your job)
Marcy Thompson, CRI
Implementing SGML is a big task, and one of the obstacles to be
overcome is the development of an appropriate DTD or suite of
DTDs. In many industries, there are high-profile "industry
standard" DTDs (developed by an industry consortium or a
formalized standards activity) which hold out the promise of DTD
nirvana: all gain with no pain. To what extent can an industry
standard DTD help you achieve your implementation goals? What
pitfalls must you avoid in order to prevent this nirvana from
becoming a nightmare?
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
The American Documentary Heritage
Database: Making SGML Work for Scholars
David R. Chesnutt, University of South Carolina
SGML markup is used in creating scholarly editions for the
Internet. The particular needs of historical editions, the
reasons why HTML fails those needs, what SGML can provide
instead, and how the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) Standard DTD
was used to create specific DTDs for the project, are discussed.
Constraints and approaches to problem solving are examined and a
self-sustaining financial model is posited.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK in Exhibit Hall
3:30 pm - 7:00 pm Exhibits
User Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Object Oriented SGML
John D. Rice, and Zanetta Hancock, both
of ISOGEN
In 1996, the State of Alabama began developing an information
authoring, management and delivery application modeled on the
processes of the state legislative system. A true,
code-generating RAD tool using object oriented methodologies was
to be used to model business processes and to generate the
application. However, there were questions as to how the SGML
component should be effectively designed and integrated. An
approach for incorporating SGML into the context of a larger
application is described, including the requirements, approach to
meeting them, and the solutions chosen.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
BNA's Publishing Systems Project
Donna M. Ives, The Bureau of National Affairs
The goals for BNA's new publishing system are explained,
including why BNA chose SGML as an integral part of that system.
An overview of how BNA implemented the system includes business
process re-engineering, adopting SGML, converting legacy data,
and lessons learned during the process.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
OpenTag Initiative: Common Data
Extraction and Abstraction Method for Translation and NLP
Activities
Walter Smith and Yves Savourel,
both of International Language Engineering Corporation
The OpenTag format is a single common mark-up format to encode
text extracted from documents of varying and arbitrary formats to
permit robust data interchange between suppliers and customers.
By abstracting a file's heterogeneous formatting information into
OpenTag markup, homogeneously tagged text files can be produced
regardless of the original file format. Rather than converting
information from "format X" into the OpenTag format,
data are extracted from "format X", manipulated in an
OpenTag environment, and later merged back into the "format
X" file. The benefits of Open Tag are discussed and examples
of the Open Tag Markup and the Open Tag DTD are shown.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Electronic Publishing of a
Chinese Dictionary in French
Mellier Pierre and Grize Francois,
both of University of Lausanne, Switzerland
The main purpose of the Ricci Institute (Paris and Taipei) is to
publish an encyclopedia of Chinese language and culture in the
main Western languages, including French. After issuing a first
dictionary in 1976, the Ricci Institute realized that the
publication of a second encyclopedia Le Grand Ricci (the Complete
Ricci) required the use of powerful computer tools. When the
computer structures developed early in the project proved
difficult to use, the Computing Institute at Lausanne University
developed a translator, based on techniques borrowed from
compilation theory, to convert the content of the dictionary into
SGML. Many of the character set problems encountered during this
project, the tools used, the approach followed, and the
conversions, are discussed.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
The Silfide Network: An
Interactive Service for Using, Studying, Distributing and Sharing
Natural Language Resources
Laurent Romary; Patrice Bonhomme
and Samuel Cruz Lara, all of CRIN-CNRS &
INRIA Lorraine Batiment LORIA - Campus
Scientifique, France
The Silfide project uses the World Wide Web in two ways: for
accessing and distributing linguistic resources for linguistic
researchers, students and teachers in the humanities, and
computer scientists, and for exploring the use of new
technologies in information distribution. Within the first season
of the Silfide Server Project, the first Silfide Server prototype
was developed, implementing the TEI guidelines and the CGI and
Java technologies. New directions within a second season of the
Silfide Server Project concern related topics: (1) managing
linguistic resources encoding in XML/TEI, (2) distributing
linguistic resources over a Silfide network using the
possibilities given by new technologies for a Web information
server, and (3) integrating and standardizing linguistic tools in
a distributed environment.
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
User/Database Track
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
SGML as a Data Interchange Format
for Distributed Systems
Jonathan Robie, POET Software
Distributed object architectures like CORBA and COM have
traditionally exchanged distributed objects. XML-based document
components can be used as a much simpler alternative, providing
semantically rich exchange formats which are not dependent on a
specific distributed object architecture, and which can easily be
authored, validated, and parsed using standard tools. Moreover,
programs can parse many different kinds of document formats
without advance knowledge of the structure of these documents.
When the full semantics of these document components are needed,
the DTDs used to create them can be exchanged together with the
document components. By combining these approaches with simple
distributed objects, very flexible and powerful systems can be
created.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Why Your Document Management
System Should Care About Hyperlinks
Paula Angerstein, Texcel
The aspects of hyperlinking that are relevant to document
management systems are examined. Requirements for link
maintenance are reviewed, along with the effect on link
management of integrated authoring and delivery systems. Various
mechanisms for hyperlinking—XML, HyTime, and extended
ID/IDREF—are presented and their relative merits discussed.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK in Exhibit Hall
3:30 pm - 7:00 pm Exhibits
How To Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Unraveling Exceptions
Richard W. Matzen, RWM Consulting
Authoring DTDs is a difficult task: they typically contain over
50 element declarations, and they are often recursive. This
complexity implies high costs for DTD design and subsequent
document processing. Exceptions add expressive power for DTD
authors, and thus they are used in most standard DTDs, including
HTML. Although exceptions are useful for authors, they are a big
part of the complexity problem, and it is difficult to view the
effects of exceptions on DTDs. This presentation describes a
static model that gives a precise and complete view of DTDs with
exceptions. A software tool has been developed to implement the
model and to demonstrate some applications.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
Writing a Readable DTD
Liam R. E. Quin, SGML Consultant, Canada
Formatting matters inside your DTD! How should you lay out the
text of your DTD, and how should you organize it so that it is
easy to maintain, easy to read, and effective to use?
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
User/Quality Track
10:30 am - 11:15 am
DTD Testing: Find the Devils in
the Details
George Kondrach, ISOGEN
Many an SGML enthusiast would tally a "success" for
SGML/XML when the DTD is written. Celebration is premature until
the DTD is subject to rigorous testing. A DTD Test Plan outlines
the significant testing and acceptance parameters of ISO8879:1986
(SGML) DTDs. This presentation will provide specific guidelines
for DTD Test Plans based on IEEE guidelines, including: testing
approach, test items, features to be tested and NOT to be tested,
pass/fail criteria, criteria suspension parameters, roles and
responsibilities, testing schedule, and risks and rewards.
Specific feedback forms, both paper and WWW, will be presented
and distributed to all participants to assist with the deployment
of existing or yet-to-be-developed DTDs.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Markup Quality Verification
Lloyd L. Harding, Information Assembly Automation
Our ability to find what we need is directly related to how well
our information is accurately labeled. We can improve
accessibility to information by enriching it with high quality
markup. Conforming SGML parsers validate DTD conformance.
However, parsers can not validate if the content is correct for
the markup. If we expect computers to have a positive and
significant impact on our need for targeted useful information,
we need to verify the content of the markup. The wealth of
quality control experience in other industries can be exploited
instead of re-inventing the wheel. Statistical Process Control
(SPC) is a natural fit in SGML systems. SPC and how it can be
used in the information industry are described. A MQV information
processing design is proposed for adding markup while maintaining
quality labeling.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
SGML Documents: Where Does
Quality Go?
Jose Carlos Ramalho; Jorge Gustavo Roch; Jose Joao Dias de
Almeid; and Pedro Rangel Henriques,
all of the University of Minho, Portugal
GEIRA is a project to gather all the information about cultural
resources in the north of Portugal. Our goal is to import data
from different sources (such as institutes, museums, libraries,
foundations and universities), organize it, create
cross-references, thesaurus-like tools, etc., and make it
available, mainly in WWW and CDROM format. Collection and
treatment of information from several different sources —
some of them with a few dozens of documents, others with
thousands — raises interesting problems related to quality
assurance. After stating what is meant by quality in electronic
publications, mechanisms under development to ensure it are
discussed.
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Expert Track
10:30 am - 11:15 am
Overthrowing the Tyrant:
Eliminating the File/Application Paradigm
Michel Vulpe, Infrastructures for Information, Canada
SGML is an infrastructure technology which, if properly applied,
may yield one of the Holy Grails of information processing data's
independence from the applications that create it. Until this is
achieved, the vision of users creating virtual worlds shaped by
their points of view and needs will not be realized. A revolution
is required, one which overthrows the tyranny of the application
by eliminating the file/application paradigm.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Towards Global Interchange of
SDATA Character Entities
Liam R. E. Quin, SGML Consultant, Canada
SGML documents that include references to SGML SDATA character
entities are today inherently unportable. It is not possible to
define a new SDATA entity in such a way that any arbitrary SGML
system will display the corresponding character correctly. ISO
has published some standard PUBLIC texts containing definitions
of the more common entities, such as "eacute", but they
are defined in such a way that any given SGML system is certain
to have to change them, or to provide a mapping onto
system-specific definitions. As a result, many SGML software
packages do not display even the core ISO SDATA entities in a
useful way. This presentation briefly reviews the current state
of the art, introduces terminology from relevant existing ISO
standards, outlines a set of requirements for a possible
solution, and then proposes one such solution.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Package or Perish
Terry Allen, SGML Consultant
SGML, perhaps oddly, has no concept of a literary work. For
traditional documents in SGML this is not a big problem. There is
no question about what the limits of the literary work are; the
components can be tared or zipped together easily. On the Net
things are different. A single literary work may exist as scores
of chunks linked not only to each other but also to external
documents. There is no way for a user agent to collect them all
reliably or efficiently. The author's straw proposal for a MIME
multipart/related type meant to package SGML, in which the focus
is on the information that must be packaged, without attention to
optimization of the packing format itself, is presented and
compared to Intuit's OFE and other SGML and SGML-like MIME
encodings optimized for delivery on the Net.
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Expert/Novel Uses Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
SGML and Meta-information: from
SGML DTDs to XML-DATA.
François Chahuneau, AIS, France
SGML did not the invent structural document models, or
"schemas", but with the trend towards "content
oriented" DTDs and specialized "CASE" tools to
manipulate them, the potential of SGML as a data modeling
methodology became clear. However, because an SGML DTD intimately
mixes the notion of a "grammar" and that of a
"schema", these two concepts remained partly confused,
at least in the "orthodox" SGML approach. By
introducing a simplified syntax with a fixed grammar, XML
isolated the role of DTDs as "pure schemas", and also
made them unnecessary for pure recognition of "de
facto" document structure. Recent proposals such as MCF and
XML-Data suggest using the syntax of XML itself to encode
document schemas, thus unifying the syntax of DTDs with that of
document instances. At the same time, they propose extensions to
SGML's data-modeling semantics incorporating object-oriented
concepts. Will such evolutions allow XML to become the ubiquitous
way to exchange structured data and associated models, making
SGML's modeling power available far beyond its original
application niche?
9:15 am - 10:00 am
Element Type Hierarchies for
Transparent Document Structure Definition
Henry S. Thompson, Language Technology Group, Scotland
Two recent proposals for meta-applications of XML (MCF and
XML-Data) have included DTD fragments for describing document
structure, sometimes called `schemata'. This presentation
describes one of those proposals (XML-Data), concentrating on the
motivation for and the nature of the provision of an element-type
hierarchy in which element types can inherit attribute
declarations and positions in content models from ancestors in
the hierarchy. The presentation argues that this represents a
major improvement over the use of parameter entities to structure
and maintain DTDs and presents the case for better data typing
for PCDATA content.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
XML-based Document Image Analysis
Russel W. Young, Folio
The digitization of document images is not a new problem, but XML
offers a better alternative to solving the OCR problem. First of
all, the XML DTD offers a document grammar that is sufficient for
capturing the structure of regular document images. It also
allows for a variation of presentation among document types, so
that a document may be automatically classified and digitized
based on analysis of the document image. The result is a tagged
document that is much richer, more consistent and more readily
usable on the web than a traditional ASCII text file.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Mathematical Markup Language - an
XML Application for Mathematics on the Web
Stephen Buswell, Stilo Technology, UK
Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) is a XML application for
describing mathematical expression structure and content. The
goal of MathML is to enable mathematics to be served, received
and processed on the Web. This presentation discusses the
particular problems posed by the representation of mathematics on
the web and outlines the XML-based solution proposed. This
solution supports both presentation and semantic models of
mathematics. The paper looks at the relationship between MathML
and some existing mathematical representations, the browser
interface and techniques for embedding of MathML in HTML page,
the requirements on tools for the creation, editing and viewing
of MathML, MathML support in applications, and legacy data
conversion issues.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Documents are Software: A Focus
on Reuse
Robert Streich, Schlumberger
There are many advantages to breaking complete documents into
small, relatively discreet chunks or information modules:
multiple authors can more easily work on the same document, the
information modules could be served up individually as part of an
online help or performance support system, and the modules can be
reused in other documents. But how can modules be reused between
different documents with some assurances that they fit the new
context? How can the dependencies between modules be tracked? How
can a library of information modules be managed? Two fields of
research in software engineering that might be able to provide
some answers to these questions are explored: module
interconnection languages and faceted classification.
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Return to the SGML/XML '97 index page | Return
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Copyright © 1997, Graphic Communications Association
100 Daingerfield Road
Alexandria, VA 22314-2888
Ph: +1 703-519-8160
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Wednesday
Management Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Track Keynote: The Proper Role of
SGML and XML in an Enterprise I/T and Intranet Strategy
Eric Severson, IBM Global Services
SGML, until recently, has been used primarily in technical
publishing applications, usually at a departmental level.
However, with today's focus on web-based enterprise information
management, and the recent introduction of XML, many more
opportunities for SGML have become apparent. This presentation
surveys the current state of the information industry, from both
a business and technical point of view, and shows how SGML and
XML technology can and should be positioned within an
organization's overall I/T and intranet strategy.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
SGML (Alone) Is Not The Solution
Brian E. Travis, Information Architects, Inc.
SGML is a great technology. It has attracted the attention of
some influential companies, who have found that they can save
money, get to market faster, and increase the accuracy of their
documentation by using SGML. However, SGML by itself it
not the answer. SGML can only work if it is part of an
intelligent document management environment that utilizes other
appropriate technologies. A methodology for mixing SGML and other
technologies, like relational and object-oriented databases,
internet and intranet servers, e-mail, voice mail, external
protocol servers, and other new and old technologies is
described.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
Do You Need XML? A Checklist
PG Bartlett, ArborText
It is not always easy to see the potential impact of a new
technology, like XML, on an existing application. This
presentation offers an easy-to-follow checklist to help identify
how an organization can benefit from using XML. Methods for
evaluating XML based on user environment, functionality
requirements, and future implementation plans will be described.
11:15 am - 12:45 pm
Posters followed by Exhibits
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
From Prototype to Production
System: Managing the Growth
Stephane Bidoul, SGML Technologies Group, Belgium
SGML information systems usually come into being in the form of
small-scale prototype systems supporting a few users and a
relatively small set of representative documents. After a
successful proof-of-concept phase comes the time of production on
a larger scale where the problems encountered are of a totally
different nature from those uncovered during the prototyping
phase. This paper addresses scalability of SGML authoring and
dissemination systems. An area highlighted is the need to have a
set of detailed production procedures taking into account human
as well as automated operations.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Renewing the Vows: The Second
Level of Commitment to SGML at a Technical Society
Sally Fahrenholz-Mann, ASM International
A commitment to SGML is most often couched in dollar terms; most
implementors are aware of the costs in data conversion, DTD
development, and editorial tools. A deeper level of
organizational commitment is needed to successfully publish using
SGML — unforeseen because of the difficulty in developing an
accurate and supportable implementation plan. For this
quintessential "content provider", the need for
technically skilled people was one of the unforeseen aspects of
its embrace of SGML. This presentation chronicles the successes
and shortcomings of an ongoing SGML implementation for legacy
data conversion at a technical society.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
What Do You Do Once the
Consultants Have Gone Home?
Patricia Gee-Best, Sun Microsystems
After SGML/XML authoring, production, and delivery systems are up
and running, they must be maintained. Support and maintenance are
required for SGML systems and users. This paper discusses these
concerns with a "from the trenches" point of view, and
provides hints/tips on what to plan for up front.
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
Vertical Idiosyncrasies: How
Different Industries View SGML
Eli Willner, Data Conversion Laboratory
SGML is like the proverbial elephant being examined by the blind
men; it means different things to different people. Some people
are concerned about structure, others about media independence.
Some want platform portability, others are fixated on the web.
Some are purists, some just want to save money. Some are
experienced SGML pros and some don't know their entities from
their attributes. There aren't any hard-and-fast rules, but there
are patterns within industries which will be examined.
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Exhibits
User Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
STEP and SGML Update
Peter Bergstrom, EuroSTEP, Sweden
Two current projects in Sweden integrate SGML and STEP: the Astra
OPUS project deals mainly with information modeling, the
Hägglunds LOTS project concentrates on implementation. OPUS is
aimed at setting the scope for an information architecture to be
used within the corporation, utilizing both standards to ensure
long-time archival storage of vital business information
(research findings and drug documentation). LOTS will result in a
prototype SGML production system, fully integrated with existing
product data, with export to both SGML and STEP. The presentation
also provides a status report on the SWEDCALS STEP and SGML
prototype work.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
SGML Documentation Objects within
the STEP Environment
Hugh Tucker, Documenta, Denmark; and Betty
Harvey, Electronic Commerce Connection
This presentation will discuss various methodologies for
including Documentation Objects within STEP. The presentation
will discuss a framework for the EXPRESS modeling and mapping
into SGML. This model is based on the information
objects/document objects, as the pivotal point. The documentation
object is the lowest level of an EXPRESS entity and the highest
level of SGML (architectural form) element structure. This is
where the SGML and STEP data types meet!
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
Experience of EDI for Documents:
The Role of SGML
Philippe Vijghen, SGML Technologies Group, Belgium
The EDIDOC project for the European Space Agency involved the
creation of a flexible framework for exchanging different types
of documents, being a gateway for workflow, document conversions,
security, and communication. It is used for calls for tenders,
working documents, and press releases, and also covers WWW
publication. SGML was used for many aspects including attaching
the different envelopes of the messages exchanged and as a
technology for defining workflow scenarios. The benefits and
challenges of using SGML or XML at different levels are
highlighted, both technically and organizationally.
11:15 am - 12:45 pm Posters
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
User/XML Track
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
XML and the ATA Interchange Model
David Cruikshank, The Boeing Company
The Air Transport Association (ATA) has been developing
interchange DTD's since 1989 and many documents are currently
delivered in SGML. With the introduction of XML, the ATA industry
must review their SGML interchange model and DTD's to determine
whether XML can be used. This talk will cover the relationship
between: XML syntax and the ATA text requirement specifications
and common practices; XML linking mechanisms and current industry
mark-up practices; and ATA style requirements, FOSIs, and XS will
be discussed.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Using XML to Build Standards
Lisa Phillips, National Institute of Standards and
Technology
In a worldwide standards development effort like the Standard for
the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP), standards developers
have relied on the World Wide Web and the Internet to share and
disseminate pertinent information. The Internet and current
Web-based systems that use HTML alone do not provide the tools
needed to share and reuse the complex standards information. A
focus on using XML to enable multi-user read and write access to
a database of structurally-encoded standards documents will
entail a discussion of the inception and growth of XML; its
applicability to standards development, particularly STEP; the
advantages and disadvantages of implementing an XML-based system;
and the technical, political, and economical implications of
migrating an existing standards effort to XML.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
XML and PDA/Handheld Devices
Mark Frederiksen, MicroBurst
Handheld and mobile Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices pose
an important and expanded opportunity for XML data
exchange—but also present unique problems. Handheld
internet-enabled devices are commercially available now, some of
which are being extended to include Java Virtual Machines, or to
use Java VM as base operating systems. Handhelds and PDAs are
increasingly used for personal contact management and e-mail
applications, and for special vertical markets such as home
health care. The current and expected future devices will be
reviewed with special attention to the inherent and/or add-on
capabilities for using XML data.
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
HyTime Show and Tell: Doing
Useful Things with HyTime Today
W. Eliot Kimber, ISOGEN
Demonstration: Using available tools, demonstrates how HyTime can
be used to solve some common and difficult problems such as
managing editorial comments, tracking changes, and associating
commentary with read-only documents. Shows how the unique
features enabled by HyTime can be used to good advantage in ways
that anybody can apply.
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Exhibits
Expert Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Problems with Dynamically
Assembled Document Portions, and Some Solutions
Steven J. DeRose, Inso; Christopher R. Maden,
O'Reilly
The SGML community has had increasing interest in the capability
of assembling document displays from multiple referenced parts.
Elements in such documents reference other elements or objects
that are retrieved on the fly and transparently displayed much as
if their content had actually occurred inline. This is commonly
called "dynamic document assembly" or
"boilerplating" and traces back to the older notion of
transclusion (dynamic data inclusion). Transclusion has
previously been very theoretical, but is becoming less so daily,
especially with the coming use of XML. This presentation looks at
reasons for transclusion, possible problems, and some proposed
solutions.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
Intention-based Input
Specifications for Automated Document Generation
Stefan Svenberg, ABB Corporate Research, Sweden
This presentation explores an intention-based way of structuring
input specifications for document generators based on the
micro-document approach. This focuses on the readers' need to be
informed, rather than the content of the document. In this
approach, one pays attention to how the information-carrying
building blocks of a document naturally aggregate according to
topic and purpose into a sequential and hierarchical structure.
The generator views the specification as a plan, and decides on
the appropriate actions needed to create a document in accordance
with the plan.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
Legacy Document Conversion: a New
Paradigm
Siddhartha Sen Gupta; David Slocombe;
and Rajiv Thanawala, all of Tata Infotech,
India
A formidable barrier to acceptance of SGML and XML solutions is
the cost of marking-up existing document assets. This
presentation describes a new way to recognize document structure
using two-dimensional pattern analysis, a knowledge base of
typographic convention, the target DTD, and application-specific
linguistic usage. The presentation reports on the results of
applying this technology to EDGAR "filings" to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission and calls for a new respect
for the data-structure encoding which has been present all along
in legacy documents.
11:15 am - 12:45 pm Posters
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Expert/Software Specifications Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Using SGML in an Object-Oriented
Software Development Process
Sabine Gandenberger, Siemens Corporate Research
Center, Germany
SGML is used to bridge the gap between early specification
documents and analysis models in an object-oriented software
development process. By introducing content-oriented DTDs for the
specification documents, it is possible to define a tool-based
transformation from the specification documents to an initial
object-oriented analysis model. Our methodology OOSDM (Object
Oriented Structuring and Design Method) and our tool OMC (Object
Model Creator) are a first step towards a seamless integration of
the early specification and analysis phases into the software
development and the documentation process.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
Using SGML for Metadocumentation
Michael McCool and Paul Prescod,
both of University of Waterloo, Canada
SGML documents consist of a tree of nodes with content and
attributes, a structure that can be used to represent almost any
kind of information. This presentation discusses using SGML to
represent software engineering meta-information, specifically
formal language-independent object and class library
descriptions. Standard SGML document transformation tools can
then be used to translate the formal interface description into
code or into human-readable documentation; DSSSL is used to
generate the documentation; and Perl in conjunction with SGMLSPL
to generate code. This system has been used to describe a 3D
graphics class library and automatically generate a Tcl interface
to it. The METADOC DTD and transformation system is formed from a
set of reusable DTD/DSSSL/Perl components which have also been
used to build other document types.
10:30 am - 11:15 am
XML Specification Update
Representatives of the Committees working on the various parts of
the XML specifications including XML-Lang, XLL (XML-LINK), and
XSL (XML-STYLE) will provide current information on the state of
the specifications.
11:15 am - 12:45 pm Posters
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
IETM (DoD) Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Creating IETMs with WEB
Technology or How to Make Your HTML Intelligent
Martha Dugand and Verdret Philippe,
both of Sonovision-Itep, France
Provided a suitably structured document repository base and
suitable conversion techniques are used, it is possible to create
IETMs of class 3 and above with basic WEB facilities such as HTML
and Javascript. To produce such a browsing system, a simple
translation from SGML to HTML is not enough; more sophisticated
conversion-generation strategies must be implemented as shown in
our prototype. XML is currently presented as an alternative to
the conversion of SGML to HTML. Nevertheless XML alone is also
not enough to produce an IETM; additional processing will always
remain necessary.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
IETMs: Technology That Supports
The Future
Susan Landis and Colleen Woolley,
both of TAMSCO
An Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM), as defined in
the DoD IETM specifications, is a package of information required
for the diagnosis and maintenance of a weapons system, arranged
and formatted for interactive screen presentation to the
end-user. IETMs provide many benefits over traditional paper
manuals, as will be discussed. While the concept of IETM is still
a new technology, it is only an application of finding a more
efficient and effective way to provide support and maintenance to
existing military weapon systems.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
Expert/IETM (DoD) Track
10:30 am - 11:15 am
An Object-Oriented Approach to
Developing MIL-PRF-87269 Conforming ETM, ICW, and IETM Content
Data Models and Instances
Robert F. Fye, Aquidneck Management Associates; Neil
E. Montgomery, Aquidneck Management Associates; and Gary
S. Weiss, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division,
Newport
After a review of the powerful information modeling and
implementation-independent exchange concepts contained in
MIL-PRF-87269, this presentation 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. The
presentation also addresses: configuration management and version
control issues as an embedded part of the object-oriented content
data modeling approach, the proper use of parameter entities in
the creation of re-usable modular DTDs, and the benefits of the
object-oriented content modeling approach.
11:15 am - 12:45 pm Posters
12:45 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
Case Studies (DoD/Gov't.) Track
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
Implementing SGML in the Office
of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
Carl F. Vercio, Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD)
The Directives and Records Branch (D) within the OSD Directorate
for Correspondence and Directives is responsible for preparing,
coordinating, publishing, disseminating, and managing all
Department of Defense (DoD) publications that communicate
official policies and procedures to the Department's components.
In spring 1995, the Directives and Records Branch obtained funds
to address the 1993 National Performance Review and subsequent
Defense Performance Review requirements to make their publishing
products easier to use and more accessible to the general public.
Once the new computer system and robust local area network were
in place, the publishing process was modernized through the use
of SGML to create a non-proprietary publishing database. This
presentation discusses the necessary policy, procedure,
stylistic, and other changes resulting from the new system.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Producing Presentation-oriented
Technical Manuals from Content-oriented Information Models - II
Hugh Chatfield, Microstar Software, Canada
A publishing system architecture was designed to address the
transformation requirements necessary to produce technical
manuals from an information model for the Canadian Department of
National Defense (DND). This presentation describes results of
several follow-on projects which explore various aspects of this
architecture, providing a view of how the information publishing
activity can be a natural output of the equipment engineering
activity. The presentation will deal with: the information
model— transition from Logistics Support Analysis (LSA);
transformation from information model to publishing model;
scaling; the implication of downstream maintenance of equipment
and associated engineering information; authoring and stepwise
legacy data conversion.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
The Future of Information
Management in the US Intelligence Community: A Case Study
Approach to "Virtual Intelligence"
Fredrick Thomas Martin, Information Services Group,
National Security Agency
The future of information management within the various
organizations and agencies that collectively are known as the
United States Intelligence Community, including the CIA, NSA,
DIA, and the now declassified NRO are discussed. The focus will
be what the US Intelligence Community believes to be the
"information revolution" of the Third Millennium, with
an impact similar to that experienced in past millennia in both
the agriculture and industrial revolutions. An explanation of the
possible role and impact that the Information Technology
Management Reform Act (ITMRA, passed by Congress in August 1996)
will have on the future of information management in the US
government is provided. Describing what the future world of
"Virtual Intelligence" will really look like, this talk
will explore the concept of a more "agile" intelligence
enterprise, giving insight into how the US Intelligence Community
plans to achieve its goal of an electronically networked
environment for the production and exchange of intelligence.
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
SGML Metadata for Nuclear Weapons
Information
James David Mason, Information Management Services,
Lockheed Martin Energy Systems
With nuclear weapons testing ended, maintenance of the nation's
stockpile depends in large part on tracing the as-built
parameters of individual units. Within the Department of Energy,
a general DTD for records metadata has been developed. To meet
the more particular requirements of the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant,
additional DTDs are being developed, and a catalog of records
will be developed using these DTDs. Primary searching of the
catalogue within the Plant will be of this metadata. The records
will be converted to the more generic DTD for export to other
sites. Within the Plant the metadata will eventually also be
linked to actual records in an electronic library.
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Exhibits
Case Studies (Industry) Track
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
An Industrial-strength SGML Web
Application
Kevin Moran and Dale Waldt, both
of RIAG
The largest commercial application of SGML being fed to the Web
was released this summer by RIAG, Inc. CheckPoint™ is a
paid-access site offering gigabytes of tax-related law,
regulations, cases and analytical material to professionals in
the accounting and corporate finance markets. The frequency of
update, depth and breadth of coverage, and sophisticated
functionality of this system have challenged even the most
powerful Web-based tools and systems. RIAG also had to reengineer
internal SGML editorial systems to take advantage of some of
these unique capabilities. This presentation will describe and
demonstrate the capabilities of CheckPoint™, the intense
development project requirements needed to deploy it, and the
reengineering efforts of the SGML-based publishing systems that
were needed to support the data feeds.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
SGML and the Electronic Medical
Record
Jason P. Williams; Michael I. Toback; Jonathan A. Morris; and
Valeria C. Kern, all of Oceania
WAVE® electronic medical records allow clinicians to create
structured documents, encoded using SGML, which become a part of
the patient's medical record. The very granular DTD will allow
easy development of new document output specifications. SGML
encoding will greatly enhance the portability of documents
created by WAVE, especially as major healthcare standards bodies
are rapidly adopting SGML as one solution to facilitate data
exchange. The combination of relational database technology with
an SGML document repository within the WAVE EMR will provide
maximum access to the information for retrieval purposes for data
reporting and analysis purposes. XML will provide the necessary
tools and methods for creating World Wide Web-based solutions.
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm BREAK
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Applying SGML to Graphic Arts and
Multimedia Cataloguing
Jennifer Yang, Digital Graffiti, Canada
A commercial project to create software which manages and tracks
both physical and software collections is based upon the
"Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules", SGML, and to some
extent, the Library of Congress Early Archival Description (EAD)
DTD. How the software takes advantage of these standards,
particularly in its management of computer files, will be the
focus. Although the software's primary market is graphic artists,
the principles behind the design will be of particular interest
to those managing any collection.
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
EPCES - The Application Standard
for the Railroad Industry
Betty Harvey; Zarella James; and Doug
Welling, all of ISOGEN
The Railroad Industry Forum (RIF) is a team of the National
Association of Purchasing Managers who were tasked to develop a
standard for the exchange of electronic parts catalog data within
the North American railroad industry. The EPCES DTD, EPCES -
Electronic Parts Catalog Exchange Standard, was developed for
interchange and presentation of illustrated parts catalogs. The
presentation of EPCES information has been designed to facilitate
point and click capability. LinkOne is an electronic parts
catalog and service manual delivery system developed to enable
electronic viewing of parts and service information for
manufactured equipment and processes. LinkOne provides point and
click functionality between graphics and textual information. An
EPCES filter for LinkOne supports importing and/or exporting
parts catalog information from the manufacturers or railroads in
SGML compliant to the EPCES standard.
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Exhibits
Return to the SGML/XML '97 index page | Return
to the GCA homepage
Register for SGML/XML '97
Copyright © 1997, Graphic Communications Association
100 Daingerfield Road
Alexandria, VA 22314-2888
Ph: +1 703-519-8160
Fax: +1 703-548-2867
Thursday
Case Studies Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Solving SGML Document Archive and
Accessibility Problems in the Context of a Digital Library
Neill A. Kipp, Virginia Tech
As the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
(NDLTD) grows, it must solve the problems of growing an
heterogeneous repository of Electronic Theses and Dissertations
(ETDs). The project is using a HyTime-based architectural
solution, using hyperlinks and finite coordinate spaces to encode
the data and therefore make plain the implementation of a
generalized distributed digital library system using SGML/XML.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
The SGML implementation at Norsk
Hydro and their Sub-suppliers
Bjorn Peltonen, Citec Information Technology, Finland
A significant economical objective at Norsk Hydro is to reduce
the time and cost of maintaining equipment used in oil
production. According to NORSOK, 50% of the development cost of
an off-shore installation, is related to information. NORSOK is
the Norwegian initiative to reduce development and operation cost
for the off-shore oil and gas industry. An important part of this
effort is to develop cost efficient standards to replace
individual oil company specifications. In this case study we will
explain the implementation of an interactive system to improve
the accessibility of technical supplier documentation by
utilizing the SGML standard.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
The European Union's Budget: SGML
Used to Its Full Potential
Tom Catteau, SGML Technologies Group, Belgium
The editorial process of the Budget of the European Union
provides a good example of a production environment that is
entirely SGML-based and must meet severe constraints in terms of
production time, quality, and costs. As such, it illustrates the
fact that SGML realizes its full potential when used as a means
of manipulating structured documents. It also highlights certain
aspects of SGML, including LINK and SHORTREFs, usually considered
as advanced, making their significance apparent through a
concrete example of their use.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
MCG SGML DATABASE
James Cox; Leslie Davis; Nicky Hahn; and Hal
Thompson, all of Motorola
Motorola Computer Group has developed an SGML database system
with a view to information re-use, integrating workflow, SGML
editor, and SGML database. The system implements extensive
metadata about the SGML objects. The underlying philosophy of the
system involves writers writing in a task-oriented modular style
and authoring the modules with a view to re-use. The modules are
stored as objects in an SGML database, where retrieval is
facilitated by the metadata. Different kinds of modules are
defined in the DTD based on what is communicated in the module.
Deliverables (books) are constructed by referencing the objects
desired, with several layers of container objects for
constructing sections and chapters within a book.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
TaskGuides: An XML-based System
for Creating Wizard-Style Helps
Doug Tidwell, IBM Corporation
IBM's TaskGuide technology allows writers to use XML tagging to
create wizard-style helps for the web. Our approach is based on
the belief that task analysis and simplification is the most
difficult part of creating effective wizards. We will demonstrate
our technology and discuss how we used XML/SGML to allow writers
with limited programming backgrounds to create wizards.
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm Lunch
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
Closing Keynote
C.M. Sperberg-McQueen, University of Illinois at
Chicago
finis
User/Tables Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Handling Tables in SGML: A Dream
Dave Peterson, SGML Works!
SGML products could make "good SGML" easier by
separating tabular display from tabular data organization more
thoroughly. We don't accept products that only recognize one or
two DTDs in general; why should we for tables? This presentation
will describe and discuss the structural versus display
approaches to tabular data in SGML and the author's dream
table-oriented capabilities for display-oriented SGML tools,
especially editors. In the process, a description of various
simple and more complicated tabular structures will be provided.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
An SGML-Based Database Reporting
Language
Kent Archie, Lucent Technologies
To provide report writers a single output format, while allowing
multiple presentation formats, Lucent is using an SGML language
based on HTML/CALS tables. The reporting programs generate the
SGML documents which are translated into HTML, LaTeX or ASCII
depending on the needs of the users.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
Users
8:30 am - 9:15 am
The Need for Component
Methodologies in Global Applications
Simon Nicholson, Chrystal Software
With global markets today, the luxury of mandating the exclusive
use of a single language for documents has all but vanished. Also
fading quickly is the author's ability to predict the intended
user's language, culture, and choice of media. Using a
combination of case study and research material, this
presentation will: discuss the forces increasing the demand for
global applications and multilingual documentation; present a
typical, but inefficient, multilingual production process; and
describe how the combination of components, translation memory,
element-level document management, and controlled terminology
provide a new solution to this challenge.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
Good Performances for an SGML
Object Database System
Philippe Futtersack, Electricité De France, France; Christophe
Espert, Electricité De France, France; Didier
Bolf, Ingenia, France
The Electronic Library Project was launched to study the limits
of new technologies like ODBMS, SGML/HyTime structuring and a Web
access interface. The result is better than any estimation we
could have made. Interactive XML generation is feasible. This
presentation is as much oriented towards a concrete demonstration
as towards the conceptual explanation of the prototype.
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am - 11:15 am
From Architectures to Authoring
DTDs
Carla Corkern, ISOGEN
SGML has always allowed the definition of a group of elements and
the reuse of those elements in multiple DTDS. Any company that
has had to manage a group of DTDs that are reused in multiple
other DTDs has used this modularity of SGML to their advantage.
However, not until recently was there a way to enforce and
express formally these reusable components. The use of the
meta-DTD was first defined by ISO/IEC 10744 (HyTime) and defines
the structure and semantics of a class of documents which confirm
to an "SGML architecture". This presentation makes the
case for the use and ease of Architectural Forms.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm -
Metadata and SGML: How to Use
Both to Your Advantage
Chris Wheedleton, SAIC
"Meta" data, the descriptive data about content objects
which can be found in and around document processing systems,
plays a key role in providing information that drives the
processing of SGML content such as printing, searching or
filtering while also providing behind-the-scenes information.
This data can be used to describe content or as the content
itself, adding additional layers of usefulness that must be
managed, tracked and considered when processing. This
presentation describes what metadata can be, how it gets created
and edited, and how it may be used to best advantage.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Implementing the World's Least
Expensive SGML Document Repository
Rick Egdorf, FSI International; Stephen J.
Girard, FSI International; Kelly J.
Mankenberg, FSI International; Chris Ziener,
Information Architects
The decision to go with SGML is only the first step toward
complete SGML integration. There are issues and twists that make
every implementation of SGML unique. The FSI International
technical documentation project involved creating and deploying a
system to handle multiple configurations of documents customized
for specific clients. This presentation discusses the steps
necessary to implement a fully-SGML authoring environment and
SGML repository given a limited budget and challenging set of
requirements.
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm Lunch
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
Closing Keynote
C.M. Sperberg-McQueen, University of Illinois at
Chicago
finis
Expert Track
8:30 am - 9:15 am
Using SGML Architectures for
Information Interchange
Colin Gajraj, Nortel Technology, Canada; Tonua
Brown, Nortel Technology
Nortel is a large international telecommunications company, with
diverse and changing documentation needs. Cross-corporate
implementation of SGML at Nortel must meet different requirements
for different users while retaining a level of corporate control
over document structures. By using SGML architectures, Nortel
defines the relationships among diverse document types, and
allows for more effective interchange of cross-corporate
information. This interchange is further enabled by generic tools
that can operate on documents conforming to specific classes.
This paper describes the management and internal challenges
involved in implementing SGML architectures and a generic
transformation tool written to facilitate interchange.
9:15 am - 10:00 am
Late-Breaking News from the SGML
Standards Committees
10:00 am - 10:30 am BREAK
Expert/Architectural Forms Track
10:30 am - 11:15 am
Making Architectural Forms Work
For You: Architectural Forms without HyTime
Bob DuCharme, Moody's Investors Service
Architectural forms were developed in conjunction with HyTime,
but can be used without using HyTime (and as a bonus, once users
get used to them, HyTime is much easier to understand). The
creation of a simple DTD based on architectural forms defined in
another DTD is described. The use of James Clark's sgmlnorm
program to process a document conforming to the new DTD is shown,
and the possibilities opened up by the use of architectural forms
are explored.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Using Architectural Forms to Map
SGML Data into an Object-oriented Database
Gary F. Simons, Summer Institute of Linguistics
A solution to the problem of importing existing SGML data into an
existing object-oriented database schema without changing the
SGML data or the database schema is developed. After
investigating the general problem of where the mismatch lies
between the SGML model and the object model, the presentation
proposes a solution based on architectural processing. Two
meta-DTDs are used, one to define the architectural forms for the
object model and another to map the existing SGML data onto those
forms.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
FrameMaker+SGML and HyTime
Architectural Forms
Lynne A. Price, Text Structure Consulting
Adobe FrameMaker+SGML is a document editing and publishing system
with which end users manipulate an SGML element structure using a
WYSIWYG user interface. It provides a default SGML representation
of special formatting objects such as graphics, tables, and
cross-references but supports numerous variations of these
defaults. The variability provided by FrameMaker+SGML's
read/write rules are compared to that enabled by the
Architectural Forms defined in the HyTime standard.
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm Lunch
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
Closing Keynote
C.M. Sperberg-McQueen, University of Illinois at
Chicago
finis
Expert/Web Track
10:30 am - 11:15 am
The Web Document API
Lauren Wood, SoftQuad, Canada
The W3C Working Group on the Document Object Model is defining a
platform- and language-neutral interface that will allow scripts
and applications to navigate and manipulate the content,
structure and style of Web documents (HTML, XML, CSS). This talk
will present the current DOM specification and future work.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Building Client-side Web
Architectures Today Using XML, Balise, and a Standard HTML
Browser
Christophe Lecluse, AIS, France
A prototype for an application for technical documentation in the
automotive industry is presented, showing how powerful XML
client-side applications can be built right now using existing
off the shelves HTML and SGML products. The prototype shows
consultation of Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC) modules, with
real-time configuration management allowing to present the user
with the exact documentation for the vehicle he/she has to
repair. The presentation will present (1) the application itself
and how/why it requires a client-side architecture for
deployment, and (2) the precise architecture of the proposed
solution, along with its advantages and current limitations.
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Web Application Frameworks —
Applications of SGML, XML, DSSSL, and Java for a Web Environment
R. Alexander Milowski, Copernican Solutions
The concept of Web Application Frameworks for standards
technology like SGML, XML, and DSSSL within web environments is
introduced and the relationship of these standards to
web-oriented languages like Java is discussed. The presentation
focuses on examples of problem solving and solution delivery
through frameworks in a web environment. The idea of
"resources" will be introduced and several standard
resources will be identified that should be available on both the
client (browser) and server (web server) through these examples.
Several design patterns for how these standards, in conjunction
with programming language and implementation standards, can be
used to deliver complex document applications to arbitrary web
clients are introduced.
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm Lunch
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
Closing Keynote
C.M. Sperberg-McQueen, University of Illinois at
Chicago
finis
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