[Edu-sig] How best to publish?...

[Dennis E. Hamilton]

Well,

I am not sure where the idea that DocBook is a proprietary format or
requires proprietary tools came up.  The DocBook materials are all
available on-line, and even the book, DocBook, is an open-source
publication (created using DocBook).  Everything is available on-line in
open-source forms.  The CD-ROM that comes with the O'Reilly printed
version of the book has a selection of tools to use with it, and I
notice there is slow progress in having more of them.  There is
certainly room to provide more, and especially take advantage of the
DocBook XML DTD.

Nevertheless, I agree that HTML is very appealing as a basic source
format.  Using HTML is a very low cost-of-entry approach and I like
that.

In my work it is also appealing to be able to make Microsoft HTML Help
documents (basically HTML pages compiled into a special-single file much
the way PDF is used), and either HTML or DocBook as the editable,
authored form works for this.  See the *.chm file of the DocBook book
for an example that I like.  Since *.chm files can contain scripts,
there is also the prospect of including worked python examples and being
able to operate / demonstrate them from within the *.chm compilation.  I
am intrigued by that.

-- Dennis

AIIM DMware Technical Coordinator
I am traveling until June 1, 2000, and am best reached via E-mail.

Dennis E. Hamilton
----------------------------
InfoNuovo
mailto:infonuovo@email.com
http://www.infonuovo.com


-----Original Message-----
From: edu-sig-admin@python.org [mailto:edu-sig-admin@python.org]On
Behalf Of Kirby Urner
Sent: Saturday, 13 May 2000 14:40
To: Jeffrey Elkner
Cc: PythonEDU; Steve Morris
Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] How best to publish?...


At 03:50 PM 05/13/2000 -0400, Jeffrey Elkner wrote:
>I have a question that I think is of importance to our efforts.

[ ... ]
>the big problem with DocBook is that the tools needed to use it
>affectively are propriatary and expensive.

[ ... ]

Best is to put really good ideas, and working Python stuff,
in the public domain, with the expectation that other
teachers will edit/recombine, crediting you of course, if
you're a source, but desk-top publishing their own materials
for local distribution, materials which incorporate their
own thinking and attitudes.  The whole point of cyberspace
curricula is that you're NOT tied to some centralized
bureaucracy with a one-size-fits-all mass publishing
approach.
[ ... ]

Kirby

[1] http://www.inetarena.com/~pdx4d/ocn/cp4e.html



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