dns@sq.sq.com (David Slocombe) (01/14/91)
I have in my hands the long-awaited book by "the father of SGML", Charles
Goldfarb (IBM Almaden Research Center), edited and with a forward by
Yuri Rubinsky (SoftQuad Inc.). Here's the reference:
Goldfarb, Charles F.
The SGML Handbook.
(N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1990)
ISBN 0-19-853737-9
664pp.
This book contains *all* of the ISO 8879 standard (with the 1988
amendments merged in) -- from the original machine-readable source --
rearranged, heavily annotated, cross-referenced and indexed, and with
much additional tutorial and reference material. It seems to me that
this book will simply *replace* the ISO document for most of us who
work intensively with SGML.
I have no idea what the price will be, but I am sure that you can place
your orders now!
Here's the Table of Contents:
Forward ...................................................ix
Preface ...................................................xii
How to Use This Book ......................................xvii
Part One: Tutorials .......................................1
Annex A: Introduction to Generalized Markup ...............5
Annex B: Basic Concepts ...................................18
Annex C: Additional Concepts ..............................66
Tutorial D: Link in a Nutshell ............................92
Part Two: A Structured Overview of SGML ...................109
Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................121
Chapter 2: Text Processing Application ....................123
Chapter 3: SGML Application ...............................125
Chapter 4: SGML Document ..................................132
Chapter 5: Processing Model ...............................171
Chapter 6: Storage Model ..................................178
Chapter 7: Character Sets .................................192
Chapter 8: Markup Declarations ............................204
Chapter 9: Conformance ....................................214
Part Three: ISO 8879 Annotated ............................217
Clause 0: Introduction ....................................238
Clause 1: Scope ...........................................246
Clause 2: Field of Application ............................248
Clause 3: References ......................................249
Clause 4: Definitions .....................................251
Clause 5: Notation ........................................290
Clause 6: Entity Structure ................................293
Clause 7: Element Structure ...............................302
Clause 8: Processing Instruction ..........................339
Clause 9: Common Constructs ...............................342
Clause 10: Markup Declarations: General ...................370
Clause 11: Markup Declarations: Document Type Definition ..402
Clause 12: Markup Declarations: Link Process Definition ...433
Clause 13: SGML Declaration ...............................450
Clause 14: Reference and Core Concrete Syntaxes ...........476
Clause 15: Conformance ....................................478
Part Four: ISO 8879 Annexes ...............................495
Annex D: Public Text ......................................498
Annex E: Application Examples .............................530
Annex F: Implementation Considerations ....................543
Annex G: Conformance Classification and Certification .....551
Annex H: Theoretical Basis for the SGML Content Model .....556
Annex I: Nonconforming Variations .........................561
Appendices ................................................565
Appendix A: A Brief History of the Development of SGML ....567
Appendix B: ISO/IEC JTC1/SC18/WG8/N1035:
Recommendation for a Possible Revision of ISO 8879 .....571
Appendix C: About the ISO 8879 Text .......................594
Appendix D: Sources of SGML Information ...................605
Index .....................................................609
Needless to say, SGML itself contributed to the production of the book.
Also, an enormous amount of thought and effort -- by many people -- went
into its typographic design and production. This was *not* an easy book
to typeset, but *I* think the result is both pleasing and effective.
The last page, p.664, is a traditional "colophon" page describing the
production of the book. As this will be of particular interest to readers
of this newsgroup, I will quote it in full (I'm sure Oxford won't mind):
COLOPHON
The SGML Handbook was created from two sets of files: parts
(including the original text of ISO 8879) keyed in using IBM GML
and converted to SGML using the GML2SGML converter developed by
Wayne Wohler of IBM; and new material, dictated by the author,
transcribed and keyboarded using SoftQuad Author/Editor, an
SGML-sensitive text editor.
The merged files were parsed to ensure their conformance using
the validating SGML parser originally programmed by Charles
Goldfarb to test ISO 8879 during its development, and by the
parser used in Author/Editor.
Interim proofs of portions of the book were produced by IBM's
Document Composition Facility. Conversion for final formatting
was performed by SoftQuad's SQML program; the book was typeset
using SoftQuad Publishing Software v.2.9. Mechanicals of the
composed pages were imaged by Philippe Robitaille at Agfa Canada Inc.
using the Agfa 9600PS Imagesetter and the Agfa CAPS corporate
publishing system.
The excerpts from ISO 8879 are set in Helvetica, the preferred
typeface for ISO documents. The remainder of the text, including
the annotations, is set in Adobe's Palatino font (based on
Hermann Zapf's original typeface).
Oh yes! One nice touch is that the book has two (!) ribbons for marking
places in the text. (I guess we'll need 'em!)
----------------------------------------------------------------
David Slocombe (416) 963-8337
Vice-President, Research & Development (800) 387-2777 (from U.S. only)
SoftQuad Inc. uucp: {uunet,utzoo}!sq!dns
720 Spadina Ave. Internet: dns@sq.com
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2T9 Fax: (416) 963-9575lav@BINAH.CC.BRANDEIS.EDU (John Lavagnino) (01/16/91)
Oxford University Press sent me a catalogue in December which gave a list price of $75 for *The SGML Handbook*, and a toll-free number: 800-451-7556.
lark@tivoli.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) (01/19/91)
In article <00942CA1.3F30D9E0@BINAH.CC.BRANDEIS.EDU> lav@BINAH.CC.BRANDEIS.EDU (John Lavagnino) writes: >Oxford University Press sent me a catalogue in December which gave a >list price of $75 for *The SGML Handbook*, and a toll-free number: >800-451-7556. I tried to order this book through BookStop, a regional chain. They placed an order for me, and I later pulled out the receipt and discovered that they had instead ordered me yet another copy of Martin's _Author's Guide to SGML_. I went back and asked another clerk to correct the order. This clerk also attempted to sell me Martin's book. I cancelled the order. BookStop is just not the same since Barnes and Noble bought them out... I then went to Garner and Smith, an Austin institution for generations. They accepted my order for 2 copies, but didn't have a current price list. They called me back yesterday and told me that they had called Oxford University Press and been told that the book is not yet available; that it will be printed and shipped in late February and that pricing was not yet set. I told them I wanted two copies anyway. Observation: If you order this book from your local book store, be very careful that they order what you want. Availability? I'm still checking... -lar -- | Bart Simpson: "I think this guy is a little crazy." | | Bart's Grandpa: "General Patton was a little crazy. This guy's | | totally out of his mind! We can't lose! | | from "The Simpsons: Bart the General" Concept by Matt Groening. |
dns@sq.sq.com (David Slocombe) (01/21/91)
In article <313@tivoli.UUCP> lark@tivoli.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) writes: >[The Bookstop (Austin,TX) placed] >an order for me, and I later pulled out the receipt and discovered that >they had instead ordered me yet another copy of Martin's _Author's Guide >to SGML_. I went back and asked another clerk to correct the order. Perhaps this is a good time to plug an alternative introductory book on SGML which I think is far more "accessible" than Martin Bryan's (though we all owe Martin a debt for his heroic efforts in getting a book about SGML out when there was nothing else of any substance but the stupefyingly-opaque Standard itself): Eric van Herwijnen (CERN, Geneva) Practical SGML (Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990) 307pp. pprbk ISBN 0-7923-0635-X This book is very readable, and just the thing for anyone who wants to get on with using SGML without desiring to become an expert right away in the twisty-turns of Charles' legal mind, and it also serves as a very useful tutorial on DTD-writing, and puts SGML in the contexts of CALS and EDI. Includes good examples, and even quizzes with answers! I think a newcomer to SGML -- even one who must become expert -- would be well-advised to read this book as a prelude to _The_SGML_Handbook_. In fact I guess I'm motivated enough to type in a *summary* of the Contents: Part I. GETTING STARTED WITH SGML 1. Introduction 2. An SGML application -- document type components 3. Creating an SGML application: method and basics 4. Creating an SGML application: examples and summary 5. Managing SGML Part II. ADVANCED SGML 6. Creating an SGML application: advanced concepts 7. Advanced SGML constructs 8. Mathematics and Graphics Part III. SGML IMPLEMENTATIONS 9. SGML implementations 10. Creating SGML documents 11. SGML and databases 12. The CALS initiative 13. SGML and EDI Appendix A. Answers to the problems Appendix B. Writing a book on SGML using SGML Appendix C. The Ericbook DTD Appendix D. Some TeX entity definitions Appendix E. How to read ISO 8879 Glossary Index Every chapter, and even the Glossary, has a bibliography. * * * * * * Lar Kaufman continues: >[An Austin,TX bookstore] accepted my order for 2 copies [of The SGML >Handbook], but didn't have a current price list. They called me back >yesterday and told me that they had called Oxford University Press and >been told that the book is not yet available; that it will be printed >and shipped in late February and that pricing was not yet set. Well it sure is printed and bound -- I've got the proof right here. But I did apparantly jump the gun a little: the Canadian office of Oxford U.P. says their expected availability date is "mid-February". David. ---------------------------------------------------------------- David Slocombe (416) 963-8337 Vice-President, Research & Development (800) 387-2777 (from U.S. only) SoftQuad Inc. uucp: {uunet,utzoo}!sq!dns 720 Spadina Ave. Internet: dns@sq.com Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2T9 Fax: (416) 963-9575
enag@ifi.uio.no (Erik Naggum) (01/24/91)
I got /The SGML Handbook/ today, and found a few bugs while leafing
through it:
- There is a reference to "H.400" which should've been "X.400".
- Syntax productions are indented for each level of parentheses in
the production, but fail to de-indent if there are more than one
closing parenthesis on a line. Multiple opening parentheses are
treated right, however. This error is consistent, which is what
we'd expect.
David failed to mention one really _neat_ thing: It's a paper
hypertext dream come true! The blurb says:
o A unique ``push-button access system'' that provides the
hypertext links between the standard, annotations, and
tutorials.
Another surprising element is that the ISO 8879 text adheres to
ISO/IEC JTC1/SC18/WG8 document N1035, which contains suggestions for
future amendments to ISO 8879. While this certainly makes it more
readable (the changes seem to be of high quality), it requires that
one consult the standard when quoting. Goldfarb has been foresighted
enought to provide change bars in the margin for affected sections,
and include the "old" text in an appendix, so it's eminently possible
to relieve oneself of referring to the standard _and_ the amendment.
David said: "It seems to me that this book will simply *replace* the
ISO document for most of us who work intensively with SGML." I find
this to be very probable.
All in all, after having spent a few hours leafing through this
awesome book and enjoying the wit and humor in the footnotes as well
as in the text, I really appreciate it. I highly recommend it, from
what I've seen so far.
Now, I have a vague recollection of CFG himself being reachable as
<gml@ibm.com>. Can someone confirm this before I mail something off
to a mailing list or something equally embarrassing?
--
[Erik Naggum] Snail: Naggum Software / BOX 1570 VIKA / 0118 OSLO / NORWAY
Mail: <erik@naggum.uu.no>, <enag@ifi.uio.no>
My opinions. Wail: +47-2-836-863 Another int'l standards dude.