RE: [docbook] Custom tags in Docbook

["Dick Hamilton" <rlhamilton@frii.com>]

Oscar,

>
> Ok, after consulting the DocBook element reference 
> (http://docbook.org/tdg/en/html/part2.html), I can see your point...
> Granted, the list is enormous, but what I meant with my 
> question was how 
> to proceed when in a situation for which no suitable (pre-defined) 
> elements exist...
> 
There are generally two approaches you can take:

- For cases where what you need is a subset of an existing element
  (e.g., you want to separate out guibuttons that toggle), you can
  use the role attribute.  E.g., <guibutton role="toggle">...
  It's then straightforward to identify this case in a stylesheet
  and style it differently from other guibuttons.

- For cases where you have something completely new, (e.g., you want
  to add an element or attribute for an author's date of birth), you
  can customize the schema to add that element or attribute.  You can
  also customize the schema to remove or modify elements or attributes.
  This is common enough that there are conventions for naming variants
  of DocBook, and the stylesheets are easily extensible to handle those
  variants.

  If you're using DocBook 4.x, check out the DocBook Definitive Guide:
  http://docbook.org/tdg/en/html/ch05.html

  If you're using DocBook 5.0, check out the DocBook V5.0 How-to: 
  http://www.docbook.org/docs/howto/#customizations

> 
> (BTW, quality in this case means trying to provide all 
> elements anyone 
> is ever likely going to need, instead of providing a way for new 
> elements to be added should the need arise. I want to make 
> this clear to 
> avoid starting a possible flame :-) )
> 
While there certainly is an intention to make standard DocBook
applicable in a wide variety of applications, DocBook (especially
DocBook V5.0) is as easy (or easier) to customize as any other
schema.

I hope that helps,
Dick Hamilton
rlhamilton@frii.com