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Subject: Re: DOCBOOK: Am I using DocBook appropriately?
3E3E8F89.5000109@pinkjuice.com">Jeff Biss wrote:As I read the DocBook the numbered sections COULD be numbered but don't have to be. If they are numbered then an obvious hierarchy is generated. If they are not numbered then the converted output would look like unnumbered sections.
Numbered sections permit a person to identify subsections easier because of the hierarchical numbering.
That might go for the DocBook author, but not for the transformation tool.
And the reader of the generated presentational format (eg web, book) doesn't care if the DocBook source utilized numbered or unnumbered sections AFAICS.
3E3E8F89.5000109@pinkjuice.com">Correct. But as I see it, selecting the correct element at the time of writing will provide what you require at output. If you select numbered sections at the start you can produce the output you need, either numbered or unnumbered. If you use unnumbered at the start then you have only the unnumbered output option, as set by your stylesheet.
I'm sure you've had problems figuring out where in a book you were from the format of heading, numbering sections let's a reader know where they are at all times.
AFAICS, that does depend on the output, not on the input. I mean, you are describing features of the output, which could stay the same when switching from numbered to unnumbered section elements.
3E3E8F89.5000109@pinkjuice.com">It could be the same. Again, as I read it though, selecting numbered sections provide two options, with a corresponding difficulty of maintaining the element hierarchy in the source. Whereas any unnumbered section can be moved anywhere in the document, a numbered section must be placed properly or you must change the element number depending on where it is relocated and also ensure that the other numbered section tags reflect the new hierarchy.
Forget about trends and current styles useage, use numbered sections where they help your reader.
But isn't that clearly the job of the transformer?
eg in XSLT, count(ancestor::section) will return the level, so the output for
<section>
<section>
and
<sect1>
<sect2>
could be the same.
3E3E8F89.5000109@pinkjuice.com">
Tobi
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