DOCBOOK: Re: Request for comments: adding a Fileoutput element (RFE613293)

[Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>]

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/ Michael Smith <smith@xml-doc.org> was heard to say:
|  1. add a new element (for example, 'Filecontents') with a 'class'
|     attribute and enumerated values to indicate what type of file
|     the marked-up content is from (for example, a program file, a config
|     file, a documentation file, etc.)[2]

I really dislike the name 'filecontents'. For one thing, if I use

<filecontents>
I put stuff in
here.
</filecontents>

My "stuff" is clearly not the content of any file, it's inline in my
document.

I think what this really boils down to is, I want to shove some text
in here that should be displayed just the way it appears. How about
"verbatim"?

|  2. add a new attribute to Literallayout, with either 'filecontents' or
|     various filetypes being among its enumerated values[3].
|
|     Example: <literallayout type='configfile'>foo bar</literallayout>

This would be ok, I think, but often when a file is being inserted, the
goal is to have the text presented in a fixed-width font, which means
you have to say

  <literallayout type='configfile' class="monospaced">foo bar</literallayout>

That's a little verbose.

|  3. do nothing; keep things just the way they are.
|
|     Advantage: Hey, we don't have to change anything. 

Sigh. On the one hand, I like this best, on the other, new users don't
often figure it out.

It really seems like we shouldn't need all of these: programlisting,
screen, synopsis, literallayout, and verbatim.

How does this sound:

1. Add 'verbatim'.

<!ELEMENT verbatim (...)>
<!ATTLIST verbatim
    class    (normal|monospaced) "monospaced"
    contents CDATA               #IMPLIED

Contents is where you can say it's a configfile or a cprogram or
whatever you like.

2. We consider removing 'screen', 'synopsis', and 'literallayout' in
favor of 'verbatim' at some point in the future.

We could remove programlisting too, but I'm very hesitant to do that.

                                        Be seeing you,
                                          norm

- -- 
Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>      | Man's great misfortune is that he
http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/ | has no organ, no kind of eyelid or
Chair, DocBook Technical Committee | brake, to mask or block a thought,
                                   | or all thought, when he wants
                                   | to.--Valéry
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