[DOC-SIG] Comparing SGML DTDs

[Paul Prescod]

Guido van Rossum wrote:
> 
> > If we do decide to move the tutorial from LaTeX to SGML, then we must
> > choose a DTD.
> 
> I'm sorry, but I'm the only one who can decide to move the tutorial
> anywhere.  I have already expressed my sentiments towards having to
> enter SGML manually.  Please concentrate on the task at hand,
> e.g. the library reference manual.

I must admit to being totally confused on several issues:

 * The title of the thread is "notes on the tutorial's markup" -- isn't
the tutorial then the task at hand? I'm having trouble reconstructing
the thread. I thought that was proposed as a test case by Andrew
Kuchling. I also thought that Andrew was the tutorial maintainer (from
some old messages in the thread). You can see how I came to the
conclusion that he had the (moral) authority to move it to SGML.

 * Don't you (Guido) also have to edit the library reference manual? If
SGML is not appropriate for the tutorial, wouldn't it be similarly
inappropriate for the reference manual? I would have thought that the
library reference manual is edited a lot more often than the tutorial,
in fact. Or are you proposing that we use SGML as a step in a change
from some TeX variant?

 * Does it makes sense to think about the library reference in
isolation? Do we really plan to keep the two docs in different formats
indefinately? I'm not sure I would promote SGML if it means that forever
after people will have to install two different tool chains to process
the various Python docs. Or do the same people usually not work on the
different documents?

 * What exactly is the concern about SGML? From what I have seen, SGML
markup can be fully as <emph/minimal/ as @prod{TeX} variants. I'm afraid
that XML and HTML give people the wrong impression tht SGML must be
verbose and use redundant end tags.

 Paul Prescod

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