RE: [chairs] Re: Publication templates [afterthought[

["Dennis E. Hamilton" <dennis.hamilton@acm.org>]

A two-birds one-stone approach is possible by specifying and illustrating
the template in the template document, although it depends on folks having
something that allows them to open such a file and provide some level of
fidelity.

So an annotated template is a good idea, but not a good substitute for a
simple-text specification that does not depend on the rendering
template-handling capabilities of different products.  A faithfully-derived
PDF might provide a better presentation of such a template, also
illustrating active links in cross-references, from the table-of-content,
and to external resources), and the expected preservation of page capacity,
line width, page breaks and numbering, etc.  [It would therefore be good to
document the expected format choices for a PDF export that such a
specification would also illustrate.]

Having the PDF would also help people determine whether their product and
template are producing what the template author sees and expects.  Template
interoperability and adjustments of products to platform and configuration
differences is not such a sure thing that one can be totally confident that
the template in use will exemplify to an user the desired result and lead to
the expected rendering of the document that was intended for the template.
Having the PDF to consult provides a rendition that is presumably less
variable than what an authoring product might introduce.

 - Dennis

PS: I hesitate to suggest that an HTML form of the template would be very
workable, although there is certainly some additional concern for how the
document is mapped to an [X]HTML that renders acceptably with current
browsers and those that are to follow.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis E. Hamilton [mailto:dennis.hamilton@acm.org] 
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 19:03
To: 'Jon Bosak'
Cc: 'Kristen Eberlein'; 'Mary McRae'; 'Norman Walsh';
chairs@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: RE: [chairs] Re: Publication templates

[ ... ]

I think there is an appropriate mid-point.  Not sure how it gets done, but
there should be a style sheet that names the styles, what they are (so
someone can figure out how to engineer a template that conforms in whatever
their tool is), when and where it is used, and also what are the conditions
on page layout, headers, footers, sections, tables of content, and
appendices/annexes/indexes (to the extent allowed).  If there are
illustrations, figures, and tables, more needs to be said about what is
required.  It doesn't have to be down to the pixel, only enough to be
specific about what is essential under the understanding that silence on a
matter is permission to be creative.

But then, I am revealing my generation.


 - Dennis

Dennis E. Hamilton
------------------
NuovoDoc: Design for Document System Interoperability 
mailto:Dennis.Hamilton@acm.org | gsm:+1-206.779.9430 
http://NuovoDoc.com http://ODMA.info/dev/ http://nfoWorks.org 



-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Bosak [mailto:bosak@pinax.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 18:13
To: Bruce Nevin (bnevin)
Cc: Kristen Eberlein; Mary McRae; Norman Walsh;
members@lists.oasis-open.org; chairs@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: Re: [chairs] Re: Publication templates

OK, I get it -- this is about whether DITA should join DocBook,
Word, and ODF as an approved OASIS publishing format.  


[ ... ]


>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Kristen Eberlein [mailto:keberlein@sdl.com] 
>> Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 5:59 PM
>> To: Jon Bosak
>> Cc: Mary McRae; Norman Walsh; members@lists.oasis-open.org; 
>> chairs@lists.oasis-open.org
>> Subject: RE: [chairs] Re: Publication templates
>>
>> Jon, it's hard to write XSL transformations if you don't know 
>> what the requirements are :)
>>
>> Why should multiple TCs go through the work of reverse 
>> engineering a Word or OpenOffice template?
>>
>> I'm not raising *any* points about the look-and-feel of the 
>> prescribed styles; I just want clear specifications that 
>> volunteers on my TCs can code to.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Kris
[ ... ]