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DON’T MISS THE XML
EVENT OF THE YEAR!....
SGML/XML’97

XML, the Extensible Markup Language, is changing the world of publishing on the Web. Since its announcement at SGML’96 in Boston last December, XML has been embraced by a number of major players in Web technology including Microsoft, Netscape, DataChannel, Sun, and others. XML, in theory, is an enhanced HTML, providing more structure, intelligence, and usefulness to the information than HTML.

Join the experts in Washington D.C., December 8-11, and learn more about XML, its capabilities, the products available to date that support it, who is using it, and what the future holds for its application.

If you know very little about XML, you may wish to choose one of the tutorials on Sunday, December 8 -- SGML, XML, and your Intranet or XML for the SGML Knowledgeable. A Hands-On Guided Tour of 'A Proposal for XSL'

Throughout the SGML/XML Conference agenda are a number of presentations for the Newcomer, the User, the Expert, and the Manager on XML and its impact.

Visit the SGML/XML’97 Exposition floor and see what vendors are developing tools to support XML. Browse through the New Technology Nursery and view noncommercialized software or products in development that support XML. Click here to register for a free expo pass.

Stay for the Nocturnes and Impromtus following the conference sessions. Join the experts and your peers for informal discussions on XML and other related topics. Sign-up for a "birds-of-a-feather" table during lunch. Visit the poster sessions. Review new publications in the GCA SGML/XML Bookstore.

REGISTER TODAY!...SGML/XML’97 is your opportunity to hear the latest breaking news on XML!
For complete SGML/XML’97 details, click here

Tutorials

XML for the SGML-Knowledgeable [top of page]
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 audience: SGML 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”).

SGML, XML, and Your Intranet [top of page]
Matthew Fuchs, Walt Disney Imagineering; Michael Leventhal, Grif S.A.; David Lewis, Pacific Bell
SGML and XML are the strategic technologies for building 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 an Intranet.

Friday, December 12: A Hands-On Guided Tour of 'A Proposal for XSL' [top of page]
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.

Conference Agenda [top of page]

Monday, December 8

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.

Tuesday, December 10

Newcomer Track

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.

Expert/Novel Uses Track

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.

Wednesday, December 10

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.

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.

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.

Expert/Software Specifications Track

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.

Case Studies (DoD/Gov’t.) Track

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.

Thursday, December 11

Case Studies Track

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.

Special events

XML/EDI Future Planning
Panel Session lead by CommerceNet’s XML/EDI Task Force and The XML/EDI Group. This session will focus on planning the next steps that involved and interested parties can work on in a coordinated fashion. Topics will include: Requirements for W3C XML WG, Strategies for Interfacing with X12 and EDIFACT Formats, and XML/EDI Demonstration Projects.

Registration Information [top of page]

Cancellations
For full or partial refund, cancellations must be received in writing or by fax by November 21, 1997. After that date no refunds will be given. Substitutions are welcome.

Hotel Information
The GCA has reserved a block of rooms at the Sheraton Washington Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road at Connecticut Ave N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. The special negotiated rate is $149 single/double. Contact the hotel directly ats +1 202/328-2000, fax +1 202/234-0015 and identify yourself as a GCA SGML/XML’97 registrant to qualify for the special rate. The city of Washington, D.C. is very busy during the month of December, so make your reservations early.

To Register
Complete the registration form and return to GCA. Make necessary reservations with the hotel by November 14, 1997. All fees, check and/or credit card information must accompany registration.

Registration Fees include both electronic and hard copy conference proceedings, luncheons, receptions, exhibition, evening sessions and more.

Mail registration and payment to...

Graphic Communications Association
SGML/XML’97
100 Daingerfield Road
Alexandria, VA 22314-2888 USA

For Faster Processing:
Phone: +1 703/519-8160 or in the US call 1-888-SGML-GCA
Fax: +1 703/548-2867 with credit card information
Email to SGML97@gca.org

...or submit the electronic form below

*note: if you experience any problems submitting this form, please print the page out and fax it to +1 (703) 548-2867

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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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