Re: [docbook-apps] How do I highlight inline text ?

[Nathalie Sequeira <n@n-faktor.net>]

Hi Robert,

> Request help in figuring out how to highlight inline text.
>
> It seems that the way to go is to use something like <emphasis
> role="yellow">some text</emphasis>. 
I think the way to go would rather be

<emphasis role="semantic_function_of_the_emphasis">some text</emphasis>

while your example actually is going

<emphasis role="how_the_emphasis_should_look">some text</emphasis>

> Pontification type of question: It seems like highlighting text w/ color
> should be a standard feature ? Since its not, I am missing the mind set
> associated w/ DocBook. What is the mind set w/ which to approach DocBook and
> its processing chain such that it makes sense that color highlighting is not
> built in ?
>   
Yes, I'd say mind-set issue indeed :)

docBook handles information - the basic information plus the functions 
single pieces of the information have within the whole (is this text a 
title, for example, is it a list...or is it to be emphasized.).
Then come the docBook stylesheets, that will transform the docBook into 
HTML for you (you can tweak how the result will be via customization layer).
And finally, colors and other aspects pertaining to styling are set in CSS.

The beauty of this is that (for example):
-  in a few years, you may get tired of all those yellow texts and may 
want to make them blue or orange or purple instead. If you defined the 
specific color via CSS, all you need to change is one single class, and 
you're set up (instead of having to go through your docBook file and 
edit all the instances of, say, "yellow" -- It's the same principle as 
in separating content and form in plain old HTML & CSS).

- all texts you assign a certain role to (the name itself says it all - 
"role", what is the role these words play in the text?) will be styled 
in the same way,

- you can output your docBook-Information for different media, and can 
use the SAME source for them all, defining how they should look 
individually and OUTSIDE the docBook information itself.

http://opensource.bureau-cornavin.com/crash-course/en/your-world-view.html
also discusses the issue :)

Hoping that helps a bit,
Nathalie Sequeira