Re: Non-browser uses of HTML

 From: Fisher Mark <FisherM@is3.indy.tce.com>
| 
| Lee Daniel Crocker writes in <199605081752.KAA28983@web1.calweb.com>:
| >I am considering recommending to my company that we stand-
| >ardize on HTML for all of our internal documents for the
| >same reason.  It will be easier for us to convert them to
| >whatever visual-based format we need, they will be easier
| >to search and index, and they will be directly viewable on
| >any computer in the building without special software. I
| >may have to revisit this decision if HTML continues down
| >the visual-based road.
| 
| But it isn't a visual-based road.  The endgoal is to allow visual users 
| their visual niceties via stylesheets and OBJECT, while preserving 
| structured data for those of us who need and use it (the infrastructure 
| people).  Remember, some of the most popular sites on the Web -- the search 
| engines and indexes -- rely on the structured aspect of HTML to accurately 
| and precisely obtain data for their users.
---

I agree strongly that you should use a structured markup for your
documents, but I disagree strongly that HTML is what you should use.
It has much too little structure.  Use SGML; start with the DocBook DTD
and layer on any special tagging you need to express the special
semantics of your domain; use DSSSL to simplify it to HTML for Web use.

scott

--
scott preece
motorola/mcg urbana design center	1101 e. university, urbana, il   61801
phone:	217-384-8589			  fax:	217-384-8550
internet mail:	preece@urbana.mcd.mot.com

Received on Thursday, 9 May 1996 15:58:17 UTC