Chapter 5
Two Scenarios

You have explored the basics of SGML—what it is, what the rules are, and how it all goes together. Before you can start producing SGML, you might want to consider a few more issues. Foremost among these are whether to generate your documents in a native SGML format or convert your documents into SGML. If you already have SGML authoring tools and you want to quickly generate some simple documents in SGML, you should skip to Part VII, “SGML Tools and Their Uses.” If you want to set up a full-blown SGML authoring environment or if you have a collection of documents that you want to convert to SGML, this chapter is for you.

In this chapter, you learn about:

•  Considerations when building an SGML authoring environment from scratch

•  What issues to consider when converting existing documents into SGML

•  The use of SGML parsers in validating documents

Some Recent History

Until recently, the process of getting documents into an SGML format was often a painful one. Getting authors to understand the SGML approach was difficult. Finding the right tools to produce SGML was even harder.

In the past, your options for producing SGML were restricted to either:

•  Buying a high-end publishing system for a lot of money, installing it on an expensive computer system, and learning SGML; (You get the chance to do this while also learning the system and putting out SGML documents)

•  Continuing to produce your documents with a standard word processor and then translating them into SGML

Today, there are many tools available, some better than others. New tools are appearing all the time, most of which add interesting improvements and approaches and provide a wealth of choice for authoring, viewing, and other supporting areas related to SGML.

As a budding SGML writer/publisher, you have some choices to make. Many of the choices depend on your situation, taking factors such as these into consideration:

•  Will you be creating new documents or do they already exist?

•  How many people are/will be authoring the documents?

•  Are your authors the types who can readily accept the requirements of SGML authoring?

•  What is your authoring environment (Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Interleaf, Frame, etc.)?

•  How are your documents structured?

•  How do you expect the structure of your documents to change?

This chapter examines these issues and more. To help you figure out the best approach, you’ll examine two ways of producing SGML: starting from scratch and converting existing documents into SGML.

Creating an SGML Environment from Scratch

Imagine you work for a company called AnyCorp. You have been directed to build an SGML authoring environment from scratch.

AnyCorp is a new, high-tech manufacturing company that produces widgets for consumer use. Naturally, AnyCorp’s widgets are radically different from the competition’s widgets. Its widgets are eagerly embraced by the buying public and acclaimed in a number of magazines as “the widget of the future.”

In the glow of success, the president of AnyCorp calls you into his office. Although you feel good about AnyCorp’s success (and your pivotal part in it), the president looks concerned. After a few pleasantries, the president begins, “It may look good for AnyCorp, but I’m concerned…”

The President’s Message

“Although our widgets are revolutionary, that’s not enough. Consumers are on waiting lists, buying them as fast as they can,” the president intones. “Although it sounds good, there may be trouble brewing, just as it did with our competitors, Pterodactyl Corp. They came out of nowhere, just like us, ahead of the competition. They were very successful for a few years, and then trouble set in. First product problems arose, then sales plummeted, and then bankruptcy.”

“Our sales are great, but they create problems of their own. Demand is so high, we can’t get product information out to potential customers around the world. We’ve sold so much, we aren’t even sure where the distributors are. When we don’t know where they are, we can’t get parts, repair and service instructions, or support information to them. Our products are improving so fast, we can’t revise our manuals quickly enough.” With a glum look, the president concludes, “If we don’t do something different, we’ll become another Pterodactyl.”

What You’re Going To Do

Turning to the president, you say, “I think SGML might be the answer. Using SGML, we can get product information out to the customer as soon as it’s complete, we can support distributors and find out where they’re located, and we can revise the manuals much more efficiently.”

With a sigh, the president says, “Okay, I’ll give SGML a try. You work out a plan and give me the results on Monday.”

How are you going to save AnyCorp? With your knowledge of AnyCorp’s documents, you’re ready to build your SGML environment. This involves a number of steps, including the following.

•  Define your goals. List what you want to accomplish by using SGML in this situation.

•  Document analysis. Examine the documents to be included in your SGML library, analyzing their content to discern significant structural elements.

•  Document modeling. Construct SGML models of the documents in your library in the form of Document Type Definitions (DTDs).

•  Parse your DTDs. Confirm that the document models you have constructed are both structurally sound and legal according to the SGML standard (ISO standard 8879).