DOCBOOK: Re: XML Schemas and docbook documents

[Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>]

/ Earl Bingham <earl_bingham1@yahoo.com> was heard to say:
| that they have to validate. I am curious if anyone has any thoughts on
| potentially the DTD would be removed and just have a well designed XML
| Schema for the standard instead?

My vision is to transition from a DTD to a RELAX NG Schema as the
normative schema for DocBook. From this RELAX NG Schema, we'll
mechanically generate maximally appropriate W3C XML Schemas and XML
and SGML DTDs.

But that's just my vision and I don't know if it's shared by all the
members of the technical committee. And even if it happened to be, I
couldn't begin to guess when that transition might occur
officially. Not for a while.

| Since I have heard that all new standards with W3 and since .NET is
| completely XML Schema related, is DTD's dead?

DocBook is an OASIS Standard, not a W3C Recommendation, so we aren't
obligated to make any changes on that basis. As for .NET, well, I'm
not motivated by that at all.

                                        Speaking only for myself,
                                          norm

P.S. Yes, DTDs are dead. So is SGML. They just don't know it yet.  And
might not for years and years to come.

-- 
Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>      | Abandoning rhyme and fixed rules
http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/ | in favor of other intuitive rules
Chair, DocBook Technical Committee | brings us back to fixed rules and
                                   | to rhyme with renewed
                                   | respect.--Jean Cocteau