Re: Alternatives to Frame? (long)

[Larry Kollar <Larry.Kollar@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark Barratt wrote:

>(... no XML round-tripping, no Unicode, no
>TEX-algorithm H&J, no PostScript printing, no attachment of master pages to
>para/element tags just about does it for me)
>
>So what are the alternatives to FrameMaker(+SGML)?

Hmmm, LyX (open-source word/document processor, <http://www.lyx.org/>)
is looking pretty good right now. LyX uses the TeX H&J (in fact, it
uses LaTeX to print) and can deal with HTML and DocBook. It requires
a good bit of "think different," but one could say the same of Frame. :-)

The following is my opinion only....

Some good things about LyX:

 - open source
 - very stable
 - quick, even on older hardware over a network
 - structured editing (+SGML users will feel right at home)
 - overrides are VERY difficult
 - proven track record for working with long documents
 - works with (at least) a subset of DocBook if needed
 - export to HTML supported
 - runs on Unix and most variants (especially Linux)
 - actively supported
 - good documentation (amazingly so for an open-source project)
 - you can use raw LaTeX code if you want to do something fancy

Some drawbacks:

 - no book files
 - no generalized SGML/XML support
 - doesn't run on MacOS
 - only runs in Windows inside Cygwin(?)
 - no document variables (can be faked by macros)
 - limited cross-reference styles (equiv. "paranumonly" and "page")
 - you HAVE TO use raw LaTeX code if you want to do something fancy

I've been fiddling with LyX off and on for a while. It's *definitely*
a good idea to read the included manuals (for a change!) if you're
going to play with it. The developers call it a "WYSIWYM" system
(what you see is what you *mean*) -- the idea is that you concentrate
on your text and let the computer do the tedious typesetting stuff.

I wouldn't want to replace Frame with LyX, especially in shops
where people use most of Frame's functionality, but it would
certainly be a viable alternative for some folks if Adobe *does*
kill Frame (which I doubt will happen any time soon, BTW). I'm
just tossing out a possbility that's at least within the means
of many reading this list.

	Larry



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