Re: [docbook-apps] Small questions about what tools to use

[Michael Smith <smith@xml-doc.org>]

Alejandro Exojo <suy@kurly.org> writes:


[...]
> Then I learnt a lot more about docbook, and I learnt that docbook2pdf was just 
> using Jade and DSSSL behind the scenes, and that there were (modern) 
> alternatives to them. I tried PassiveTex, and it didn't work completely, so I 
> tried FOP (with some help, because it's a bit trickier to install Java here). 
> With DocBook XSL and FOP the result wasn't bad, but seemed a bit less mature 
> than the version Jade generated (the size of fonts and margins, for example), 
> so I chose the latter.

I agree that the font size of headings in default DocBook XSL is too big.
Way too big. But it is configurable. As an example, I've pasted in
a copy of a customization layer I use for generating FO output.

There is also an XSL-based alternative to using the DocBook FO
stylesheets -- dblatex:

  http://dblatex.sourceforge.net/

You might also try that.

> And now I want to start a new document, and I have some doubts about what 
> tools to use:
> 
> * Will Jade work with Docbook 5.0? I tried with defguide5 (is the only DB5 
> document I have), and it didn't, so I don't know if start with 4.x, or with 
> the 5.0 beta.

DocBook 5 is namespaced. Jade is an SGML tool. I don't know if it
or other SGML tools will work with namespaced content.

> * Should I remain with DSSSL/Jade, or switch to XSL, and just customize the 
> stylesheets until I get a result which is near to what I like?

For starting new projects, I would personally not recommend
investing time in using the DSSSL/Jade toolchain. For one thing,
it is not really being actively maintained. All work on new
features is going into the XSL toolchain.

Really, the current problems with the XSL toolchain are due to
limitations in the open-source XSL-FO processors (FOP, Passivetex,
others) -- not due to limitations in the FO stylesheets. There are
non-free-software alternatives (XEP, Antenna House XSL Formatter)
that produce PDF output that is better than anything that can be
gnerated using the DocBook DSSSL toolchain.

  --Mike

<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"; \
                xmlns:fo="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Format"; \
                version="1.0"> \
  <xsl:import href="http://docbook.sourceforge.net/release/xsl/current/fo/docbook.xsl"/> \
  <xsl:param name="fop.extensions">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="paper.type">A4</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="draft.watermark.image"></xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="hyphenation">false</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="alignment">left</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="refentry.generate.name">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="refentry.generate.title">0</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="refentry.pagebreak">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="shade.verbatim">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="variablelist.as.blocks">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="ulink.show">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="ulink.footnotes">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:param name="index.on.type">1</xsl:param> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="xref.properties"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="color">blue</xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="shade.verbatim.style"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="background-color">\#E0E0E0</xsl:attribute> \
    <xsl:attribute name="padding-left">4pt</xsl:attribute> \
    <xsl:attribute name="padding-right">4pt</xsl:attribute> \
    <xsl:attribute name="padding-top">4pt</xsl:attribute> \
    <xsl:attribute name="padding-bottom">4pt</xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="section.title.level1.properties"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="font-size"> \
      <xsl:value-of select="$$body.font.master * 1.728"></xsl:value-of> \
      <xsl:text>pt</xsl:text> \
    </xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="section.title.level2.properties"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="font-size"> \
      <xsl:value-of select="$$body.font.master * 1.44"></xsl:value-of> \
      <xsl:text>pt</xsl:text> \
    </xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="section.title.level3.properties"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="font-size"> \
      <xsl:value-of select="$$body.font.master * 1.2"></xsl:value-of> \
      <xsl:text>pt</xsl:text> \
    </xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="section.title.level4.properties"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="font-size"> \
      <xsl:value-of select="$$body.font.master"></xsl:value-of> \
      <xsl:text>pt</xsl:text> \
    </xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="component.title.properties"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="font-size"> \
      <xsl:value-of select="$$body.font.master * 1.728"></xsl:value-of> \
      <xsl:text>pt</xsl:text> \
    </xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
  <xsl:attribute-set name="monospace.verbatim.properties"> \
    <xsl:attribute name="font-size"> \
      <xsl:value-of select="$$body.font.master * 0.8"></xsl:value-of> \
      <xsl:text>pt</xsl:text> \
    </xsl:attribute> \
  </xsl:attribute-set> \
</xsl:stylesheet>

-- 
Michael Smith
http://sideshowbarker.net/

smime.p7s