> good markup language are quite different. SGML is designed to be a
structural
> markup language, and this is reflected in its syntax. Similarly,
PostScript
> was designed as a page description language. There is very little
middle
> ground, although style sheets do fairly well.
I agree that PostScript and HTML are worlds apart. As you have
mentioned, they have different purposes. What we can do is find a
means to marry form with content. As I understand it, DSSSL-lite is a
means to that end.
> The advantage of HTML is that it lets anyone (including automated
software)
> produce good-looking content without worrying about the details of
presentation.
Agreed. I think that HTML goes a long way to doing just that.
However, I see many WWW pages being created with graphic headlines
and images because of the limitations according to the current
specification. Content providers are pushing for more control over
the form of their message and I think it is to everyone's advantage
to give them more control. At the same time, browsers of the web
should still be able to view the documents in plain text format.
> OK, then, why not use existing standards? ISO ODA provides a
framework that
> combines presentation and structure (and can even be aligned with
SGML on the
> structural side).
I'm all for public standards. Also, I agree that there is no point in
"reinventing the wheel". We should build upon the existing body of
work in this area instead of just inventing something new.
Now, since I'm unfamiliar with the ISO ODA framework you speak of,
I'm not sure if or why it isn't being incorporated. Someone with more
knowledge on that matter will have to address it.
> Why design a presentation format in an ad hoc way based on
> what seems "cool" this week, by tacking things onto the side of a
markup
> system? That's a lot of what I am seeing in this working group.
> Amanda Walker
> InterCon Systems Corporation
Well, some great things have come out of ad-hoc groups ;). But, if
you have strong input, then you should definitely contribute.
Pointing to existing standards is an example of that. I too, don't
want to see the Web extended in ways that will come to hinder its
growth. Hence the point of a working group.
-------------------------------------------
Greg Kostello
Software Engineer greg@pages.com
Pages Software Inc NeXT mail accepted
(619) 492-9050x217
http://www.pages.com/