[Typo3-doc] Reason for dropping DocBook...

[Jean-Marie Schweizer]

Geoff Deering wrote:
> Kraft Bernhard wrote:
> 
>> Jean-Marie Schweizer wrote:
>>
>>> DocBook is pretty much like LaTEX in terms of usage. You have a 
>>> markup language to learn and write it in plain text. The big 
>>> advantage of DocBook: it is XML. It comes with DTDs and Stylesheets, 
>>> has several approved XSLTs and also the FOs for PDF and Postscript.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "The big advantage of DocBook: it is XML":
>>
>> You have one more vote for docBook from my side. I really like XML !!!
>>
> 
> This is not first hand knowledge, but maybe things to consider.
> 
> * I have seen discussion that some people are now finding the Docbook
> DTD too limited
> * At the same time, it does have a lot of tools, etc, that other schemas
> may not have

I think there will always be some sort of limitation with every 
solution. Basing the future devlopment of documentations on XML should 
prevent from getting stuck though. DTDs will eventually be with Schemas etc.

I honestly can't see how the durrent DTD 4.4 of DocBook could have any 
limitations to what we need it for since we don't required MathML etc.

Once it is in the XML format it is pretty safe, at least for right now.

> OpenOffice can import a DocBook docs with a Docbook XSL filter.  I
> installed it in OO1.1.1, but I don't think it can export it.  Could be
> wrong, may be worth looking at.

What I read so far it should be possible to export to DocBook 
(simplified format).

> OO2beta will default to the Oasis standard, for which there are more
> tools (http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/tools/).  Maybe even that is
> the answer.  Maybe the best of both worlds.

That could be.


> A Typo3 developer I was talking to on another list says that he uses
> http://kt-dms.sourceforge.net/ for a lot of clients who need these types
> of document management solutions.

That would be a different approach. Can't say much about that. Not XML 
though.

> There is also http://forrest.apache.org/docs/your-project.html which
> transforms OO1.x docs, but that may not be the type of solution you are
> looking for.

Yes. It looks like another XML solution.

I'm sure there are many great tools out there to be used for 
documentation but I guess in order to decide on one we'd need more 
experience with them. All I know is that DocBook seemed to be known if 
not common among the discussion for the documentation process around TYPO3.

Jean-Marie