Re: [Fwd: Word Processors]

[Timothy Ritchey <tritchey vne com>]

> > Gack! UI _IS_ core functionality.

Has any been considering the ideas of document content and layout
seperation ala SGML? I had one of those days about 6 months ago when
Word had taken over my document. I couldn't get it to do anything I
wanted it to do it seemed. I was waiting for some condescending voice to
come out of my PC speaker saying "Are you SUUUURE you want to do that?"
In a fit, I uninstalled Word, asked my publisher what else they would
accept, and have been using SGML ever since. 

It is awesome. I have a single document base that can be output into PS,
HTML, RTF, etc. Now, I am not suggesting a full blown SGML, DSSSL WP.
This might be a little much, however, I am wondering about how the XML
would be implemented. I would like to see something that seperated the
content of a document from its layout. One popular SGML DTD is DocBook.
This specifies things like chapters, sections, paragraphs, program
example, etc. could something like that be transfered to XML? I am not
sure which parts of SGML XML leaves out, so don't know how much DocBook
requires SGML's features. This might be something to look into. 

Anyway, one thing that is important when considering content vs. layout
is how the UI works. Most implement some s**ty pulldown menu. emacs
psgml mode is nice in that it allows text entry of tags. an efficient
and programmable way to deal with this issue would be a windfall. Any UI
would have to take serious consideration of this.

No answers, just yacking, sorry.

tim