Re: Document (was RE: [MACCAWS] Steering Committee Proposal uploaded)

Rodrigo Fonseca <[email protected]> wrote:
> What's that? I had a glance at their web site and seems like a
> SGML based formatting scheme. It can be converted to XML.

Most recent ones are expresible as straight XML.

> Is it interpreted by a XSL or do we need to convert to XML first?

It is XML.  You can use XSLs on it.  XSLT (you've all heard of that, W3C)
and XT3D (PLT at PADL 2000) both can handle it.

> Is there any devices that already have native support to it,
> without having to convert to XML first?

There are some programs that have native support.  Generally, converting it
to xhtml is what you will want to do, though.

> Couldn't find those answers in the FAQ. It's being developed since 1987
> and I've never heard of it, not even at the university. And I did
> literature with English specialization, have a feeling that I
> *should* know about it.

Only if you had any crossover between literature and computing.  My
university used to.  I think they've nearly killed it off for undergraduates
now, from what I hear.  Sad, but at least the researchers continue.

> Sorry, but I didn't understand the concept, seems to me like
> it's a "semi-fixed" and pre-formatted XML-like scheme.

It is.

> Why use it, if we can customize XML in any way?

Well, why reinvent wheels?  Sometimes the wheel that is available isn't the
right fit for your wagon and you have to make a new one.  Other times, it's
a lot cheaper to get a premade one than to set up your own wheelwright.

> Maybe someone could explain me the difference and why TEI is
> needed (and maybe even why was it created in the first place)?

It was created to try to make a more standard wheel.  It is needed to make
skills more transferable.

> Anyone?

Hello.

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