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Re: xml2rfc is OK ( was: Re: XML2RFC must die, was: Re: Two different threads - IETF Document Format)

2009-07-06 10:54:12

Lars> since you asked: I have absolutely no problems with xml2rfc.

I find  that xml2rfc  takes too  much control over  the boilerplate  and the
references to  be a  really useful  tool.  I dropped  it after  one attempt.
However, many  of my  colleagues use it,  and as  a result I've  gotten many
questions of the form  "what do I have to do to  make xml2rfc produce output
that  will pass  idnits?".  I  can't tell  them "just  put in  the following
boilerplate", instead  I've had to figure  out the right value  of the "ipr"
variable.  (BTW, no one ever  cares what the boilerplate actually says, just
whether it will  pass idnits; xml2rfc really encourages  folks to ignore the
semantics of the boilerplate.) 

Joel> One large draft I was working on was originally written using WORD.  I
Joel> found it extremely  difficult to work with (although  I have a current
Joel> version  of  Word available  at  all  times.)   Instead, working  with
Joel> another author we converted the document to XML for XML2RFC.

Hey, I've converted  from both Word and  XML to nroff; that way  I don't get
any surprises  ;-) OTOH, I  have to admit  that nroff was a  bit challenging
when I moved from Solaris to Linux.

Joel> I have seen  some folks arguing that we  should make XML2RFC normative
Joel> and mandatory.

Of course,  in the  IETF it  is very common  for folks  to think  that their
personal preferences are objectively superior.  


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