Re: word processor document format: what parts?

[Todd Graham Lewis <tlewis mindspring net>]

On Sat, 19 Sep 1998, Mark Galassi wrote:

> I think Patrick is completely right, and a really cool processor must
> work that way.
> 
> If you do that, you end up with a good part of a replacement for
> FrameMaker+SGML which is a cool SGML authoring tool.

1) I use LyX and wish that there were a cool GNOME SGML editing tool,
as this is what I would probably use for writing my own documents.

2) Bob is a word clone.  It is a wordprocessor.  If you want to make each
letter a different font, then it will let you.  If you want to design
an SGML editor, then start writing the design doc.  I want to work with
you to make sure that as many parts as possible are interoperable between
our two.  The goal here is not to have one editor which embodies someone's
preferences, but to make a Word/WordPerfect clone and a Framemaker clone
both possible; the goal which I would like to reach is to come to some
common design decisions which make components maximumly reusable amongst
all document-editing programs.

I wish that we would spend less time talking about what the front end
will or won't do functionally and more time discussing what the underlying
object model should look like.  See my earlier mail of whether document-
implementation objects should export document formats, or whether they
should plug into other document-format implementations.

--
Todd Graham Lewis            32°49'N,83°36'W          (800) 719-4664, x2804
******Linux******         MindSpring Enterprises      tlewis@mindspring.net