RE: support for 'macro' formatting languages

[Pieter Rijken <pieter.rijken@xxxxxx>]

Mark,

> 
> >P.S. At the moment I have added a backend to support SDML (specific
> >     document markup language, or DECDocument, it runs on OpenVMS).
> >     SDML is a macro package on top of TeX. I have documents written
> >     in SGML, from which I generate TeX, RTF, and ...SDML. In order
> >     to make optimal use of SDML, I would like to access 
> macros defined
> >     in SDML without having to modify the DSSSL scripts.
> 
> I don't follow what you want to do here, but it would appear 
> to me that you
> have the tool in place to do the automated high level 
> transform that I would
> think you need?

Partly you're correct. At the moment it is straightforward for
me to add special constructs to the backend so that i will be
able to use the macros of DECDocument. But this needs changes
in the DSSSL file which are specific to DECDoc. Since i also
generate RTF and TeX with OpenJade i wish to keep the DSSSL as
clean as possible.

If there's no 'clean' way, i.e. a decent SGML way, then i'll just
have to clutter up *all* DSSSL files with constructs that apply
only to a certain backend.....
I was just wondering whether there is a more clean appoach, e.g.
one in which it is possible to give 'hints' in the SGML document
what macro use, or one in which one only needs 1 DSSSL file per
'macro language'.

I'm aware of the fact that DSSSL wasn't designed to cope with
'macro languages' or intermediate (high level) output and therefore
no 'clean' solution exists.
Hopefully there's an acceptable solution to this (i guess) general
issue?

thanks,

pieter


-- 
Pieter Rijken                          E-mail: pieter.rijken@xxxxxx

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Division Advanced Technology
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