Subject: Re: Scheme Programming Reference From: Paul Tyson <ptyso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 01:05:38 -0500 |
Sebastian Rahtz wrote: > > Brandon Ibach writes: > > What, I believe, is needed is a book that does for DSSSL what > > Goldfarb's "SGML Handbook" did for SGML. It's actually a > > what Goldfarb did for SGML, arguably, is put off 99% of the people > who picked up that monstrous tome. I think its a terrible, unhelpful, > offputting book. it typifies why SGML was such a huge marketing > failure. > > we need a *fun* book about DSSSL. and plenty of publishers would risk > it, if anyone can write such a thing. > I will argue it. The "SGML Handbook" is and always will be the definitive reference work on SGML. It is painful to read other expositions of structured documentation after you have experienced the Handbook. Although it's subject matter is much narrower, I place it alongside Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming", Abelson's and Sussman's "The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs", and Hofstadter's "Goedel, Escher, Bach" among the most elegant treatments of computer topics. That said, I admit it may not be immediately accessible to those who prefer a "Dummies" introduction (although the introductory tutorials are about as close as a self-respecting author would care to get to a "Dummies" level). Brandon and Sebastion are both right--we need more (any?) good material on DSSSL, both definitive and elegant (like the "Handbook"), as well as easy and pretty. We were fortunate that the chief architect of SGML was also quite literate. I don't even know if there was a "chief architect" of DSSSL, let alone what his or her literary inclinations are. Maybe someone can eventually stitch together the pieces of the DSSSL Documentation project together to make a creditable book. Better yet, is there any chance someone can collect information from members of the ISO working group that created DSSSL? This, together with minutes and records of the working group, would provide some fascinating background. But there is also the hard question: how many people really can understand and appreciate DSSSL, regardless of how it's presented? It involves some advanced and abstract concepts. Can these be explained simply and effectively? I don't know. Once you learn them, they are deceptively simple, but far from self-apparent. I myself would like everyone to think in DSSSL for formatting and transforming documents, but that is unrealistic to say the least. It's like they say about Unix--it's very user-friendly, just very particular who it's friends are. Paul Tyson DSSSList info and archive: http://www.mulberrytech.com/dsssl/dssslist
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