Re: [docbook-apps] Where to start?

["Chris Chiasson" <chris@chiasson.name>]

1.
oXygen needs a fast computer with lots of memory to run well. However,
it is a very full featured editor that is fairly easy to learn and
mostly free of annoying quirks. You might also try EMACS nXML mode. It
is blazingly fast. If you use it with the docbookxi.rnc file included
with the the DocBook schema (definition of acceptable document
structure by use of patterns that represent xml structures), it can
validate your input as you type just like oXygen. XXE is an other
validating editor that has the benefit of actually looking like
Microsoft Word.

2.
I recommend DocBook 5. If you use DocBook 4.5, you are going to have
to learn a lot of old and crusty technology.

3.
Yes, there are consultants that can help you. Several of them answer
questions on this list, so you will probably receive replies from
them.

DocBook + Subversion = You know it works because they wrote the
Subversion book in DocBook. Heh


On 4/20/07, Thomas Schraitle <tom_schr@web.de> wrote:
> Hi Craig,
>
> welcome to DocBook! :-)
>
> On Samstag, 21. April 2007, Craig White wrote:
> > [...]
> >
> > The objective:
> > We have approximately 600 page 'manual' consisting of mostly static
> > text, some forms and a small amount of graphics. These are mostly in
> > individual Microsoft Word documents (ugh!)
>
> > Final formats would likely
> > be html (for most usage including filling out forms)
>
> The DocBook XSL stylesheet can create this and even more.
>
>
> > and PDF (for printing hard copies).
>
> ... this too. You create an intermediate format (XSL-FO) first and convert
> this into PDF with a XSL-FO formatter. There are open source (FOP,
> xmlroff) and commercial (XEP, AntennaHouse, ...) formatters available.
>
>
> > My platform is primarily Linux and my thinking
> > is that I will probably use subversion for this project.
>
> That's a very good idea! I use Subversion for my own project too and I
> can't live without it. ;)
>
>
> > 1. I have looked at the web pages for several programs but the ones
> > that seem to be of interest are Oxygen and Serna. Oxygen seems to have
> > more features and Serna seems to be WYSIWYG. Recommendations?
>
> I use oXygen and I like it. It has a lot of good features.
>
>
> > 2. If I am starting now, should I just go to Docbook 5 and relaxng?
>
> Hmn, I think for the first time you should go for DocBook 4.5. If you get
> used to it and need additonal functionality you can still switch to
> DocBook 5. There is a stylesheet that can convert version 4 documents
> into version 5. Apart from the namespace and additional elements and
> attributes DocBook 5 is pretty the same as DocBook 4.
>
>
> > [...]
>
>
> Best wishes,
> Tom
>
> --
> Thomas Schraitle
>
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-- 
http://chris.chiasson.name/