Re: [docbook-tc] DocBook Syntax in TDG - Send Your Comments

[Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>]

"Dick Hamilton" <rlhamilton@frii.com> writes:

> 1) Reproduce the format from the current guide. This would
>    need to be tweaked, but the result would look similar to
>    the way the book looks today.

I've been toying with this one. I don't know if it's going to work or
not, but it sems worth a try.

> 2) Remove syntax information from each entry and replace it
>    with an appendix that contains the full grammar. That is
>    still pretty voluminous, the full rnc grammar, unedited,
>    is about 180 printed pages. However, it could be edited
>    to display in less space.
>
> 3) Remove syntax information entirely and make it available
>    in eBook form. The entries might include parent of and
>    child of lists, but not the syntax.

Both of those seem to reduce the value of the book pretty
significantly to me.

> 4) Compress the syntax by using the same groupings that the
>    grammar does. This would make the syntax for an element
>    like <section> look something like this:
>
>    element section {
>       db.section.attlist, db.section.info,
>       db.recursive.blocks.or.sections,
>       db.navigation.components*
>    }

I guess we could try to use the RNC patterns, but I think running
them all together is pretty confusing. But it does save space...

                                        Be seeing you,
                                          norm

-- 
Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>      | If you understand: things are as
http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/ | they are. If you do not
Chair, DocBook Technical Committee | understand: things are as they are.

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