At 02:04 PM 7/25/2003, Mike wrote:
The more common pattern here is for a domain-specific, back-end markup
regime to
be transformed to a particular client render or transmission markup
(XHTML, WML,
FO, service framework). The in-house markup can be a major, public schema
like
Docbook or TEI, an industry-specific initiative, or completely home-cooked and
as simple as your semantic requirements allow.
I wish I could agree with Mike that this is the more common pattern, since
it's certainly the pattern I prefer: less headache all around.
It can be a tough sell to make, however, in places where the issues are not
well understood, particularly why it's so important (saving time, money and
grief, improving quality, and opening up new applications for the data) to
invest in good markup at the earliest possible point in the document lifecycle.
XSLT certainly mitigates the problem, but it doesn't fix it. In fact,
having magic dust to scatter over this kind of thing just makes it seem
less troublesome than it is, while denying us the benefits of using the
dust for something better than fighting fires.
Cheers,
Wendell
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Wendell Piez
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Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com
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Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631
Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285
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