Re: Small User: Future of Frame/Mac

[Dan Emory <danemory@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:15 PM 5/30/99 -0500, Ted Goranson wrote:
>--------------Snip
>Concerning Frame Itself:
>
>Our document will live a long time on the web and we want to utilize
>upcoming technology. This appears to be XML-based. Is it likely that Frame
>itself will keep up with the state-of-the-art in this regard, what with so
>many tools in the web space that Abode has to support? Or should we just
>say that Frame+SGML (and accompanying good practice) is the way to go to
>ensure sufficient structure in the work that anything reasonable can be
>accomodated?
=============================================================
Yes, definitely FM+SGML. The big question, though, is whether the next
release will fully support XML, including Unicode, XLink, RDF, and XSL.
Version 5.5.6 can only export XML from structured FM+SGML documents, and it
does not implement XLink, RDF, or XSL. The present Cascading Style Sheet
(CSS) implementation for XML in FM+SGML V5.5.6 is unacceptable, because it
only works if each format rule in the Element Definition Document (EDD)
Specifies a paragraph tag, which  is inconsoant with good EDD design
practice. As far as Unicode goes, the question is whether the next FM+SGML
release will be capable of handling any language that can be encoded with
Unicode.

Given the expected long life of your project, XML/SGML is the best (and
perhaps the only) choice, because it will:

1. Survive the demise of platforms, authoring software, and 3rd-party utilities.

2. Assures that documents can be converted  to any required format using
multi-purpose conversion/filter products such as OmniMark and Filtrix.

There are many organizations facing your dilemma, particularly as it relates
to XML. The continued volatility of the XML, XLink, XSL, and RDF standards
makes it difficult for any software company to offer a complete solution
now. But the big winner in the XML market competition will be the first
software company to publicly announce a convincing plan for developing such
a solution.

I, for one, fervently hope Adobe will be that company, and FM+SGML will be
the product that offers the complete solution. But the announcement must
come within the next 6 months.    
     ====================
     | Nullius in Verba |
     ====================
Dan Emory, Dan Emory & Associates
FrameMaker/FrameMaker+SGML Document Design & Database Publishing
Voice/Fax: 949-722-8971 E-Mail: danemory@primenet.com
10044 Adams Ave. #208, Huntington Beach, CA 92646
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