Tool comparison (Was: Alternative for DITA Help Technologies Guide)

[Scott Prentice <sp@leximation.com>]

I think it would be very useful to provide a comprehensive list of 
features that a DITA authoring tool might offer and how the tools stack 
up. This wouldn't likely be a yes/no sort of thing but probably more of 
a rating from 0 to 5 since there will always be shades of gray. The 
feature list might be maintained by this committee, but the compliance 
level and rationale might be provided by the vendors themselves (with 
review from the committee). If a vendor wanted a feature added to the 
list they would need to get approval from the committee.

This would not only be a benefit to end users who are looking for a tool 
with specific features, but also would help to raise the bar for the 
vendors themselves by seeing the features that are lacking in their 
tools. This would be difficult to do as a wiki .. it would quickly get 
out of hand .. and is more suited to a database-supported web app. I've 
considered putting this type of thing together myself, but it would be 
best to be sponsored and managed by OASIS to ensure it is unbiased as 
possible.

Just a thought.

Cheers,

...scott

Scott Prentice
Leximation, Inc.
www.leximation.com
+1.415.485.1892



alexm@writepoint.com wrote:
> Hi Marc,
>
> I agree that providing some tangible criteria that would help DITA adopters
> pick up tools they need is a good idea. The question that we'll have to
> answer, though, is what a DITA adopter should expect in the end. Should we
> bring him or her - through iterative exploration of the needs - to one
> single tool or should it be a list of tools that can potentially fit the
> needs? If the former option, then we put ourselves in a pretty risky
> position of being affiliated with a specific tool (who can ensure that we
> used objective criteria?). If the latter option, will it useful and
> practical enough? 
>
> Or should the criteria we give should be a roadmap that provides general
> recommendations on the selection process? Or should it take a form of
> detailed case studies that explain how and why specific companies with
> their specific needs choose a specific tool?
>
> In any event, I think you raised a very interesting and important issue. I
> would be interested in joining you and other interested TC members to work
> on criteria and finding solutions for helping DITA adopters select tools.  
>
>
> What other members think about how we can move forward?
>
> Alex
>
> --
> Alex Masycheff
> Senior XML Project Manager, WritePoint Ltd.
> Member, OASIS DITA Adoption Technical Committee
>  
> Website: http://www.writepoint.com
> Blog: http://www.writepoint.com/blog
> Mobile: +972 50 274 4330
>
>