Publishing with XML

XML Trenches. Bad DocBook

The XML Trenches posts are case studies of real-world publisher XML events. The idea is to illustrate the fact that digital content strategies need the right tools and approach, and are a guide to help publishers make the right decisions.

We just received a DocBook XML file from a publisher who asked, "Can this be used to make a Mobipocket for Amazon?". The DocBook XML had already been used by the producer to make an ePub. We cracked it open to have a look.

It was a valid and well-formed DocBook file with a custom namespace, but there were significant tagging and structural errors which stop it being usable except by spending time = money. I have posted on this before in Sustainable XML Strategies.

This is the issue with every DocBook produced book XML I have ever seen. They cannot be used to produce more outputs without significant analysis, time and more work. 

XML Flashcards in IGP:FLIP

We have just been through a small in-house publishing project where the layout capabilities of XHTML and CSS for print was fully exploited. We are in the process of adding 150 new production editors and they have to be fully trained in image processing, proofing and XML production in just a few weeks. It's a pressure-cooker course.

We have our own highly optimized production tools for all aspects of digitization work so the steep learning curves associated with third party desktop applications is removed. But the production teams still have to all be able to talk with the same quality vocabulary, and instantly analyse books, magazines and other content into various structures for processing in IGP:FLIP and production to print, e-books and channel delivered content.

It was essential that the learning process and training outcomes could be quantified. One of the main learning and evaluation tools we decided to use for the knowledge aspects of this program was Flashcards. Good old fashioned printed ones so they can be taken home and used anywhere any time.

We needed to make a lot of Flashcards very fast. They had to be authored, reviewed, and fully pilot tested before going live with users.  Creating a lot of flashcard sets is a big undertaking and very detailed work. To the rescue - XHTML and the new CSS-3 box-sizing: border-box in IGP:FLIP.

For those who don't know what box-sizing does, you can read a bit more here. The important point is that Firefox, Safari and PrinceXML all support this powerful CSS feature.

Publishing XML is Tagging Patterns

Things are picking up apace in 2010 and the blog is constantly nagging me for being negligent.

IGP:FLIP allows the importing and conversion to FoundationXHTML of a wide range of formats including word-processor files, spreadsheets, presentations, text and other items. The text and structure aspects of the content are imported substantially intact.What goes missing is the original style information.

We constantly get asked "Why can't IGP:FLIP import XML?" Well of course it can, but not through the general office formats importer. XML is not a format. It is an encoding standard that lets anyone use agreed vocabularies to define machine to machine data interchange. A specific XML schema or DTD is getting close to being a format, but is usually a long way from being usable except in an opaque XML editing or processing environment.

Sustainable XML Strategies

The main problem with any potential content XML strategy is... which or what XML DTD or schema to use. This decision affects all publishers including corporate, institutional and government.

As part of the "which XML" decision making, you no longer have to think about what you want to do with your content in the future. Right now if you are not wanting your content ready for absolutely anything and everything you shouldn't be thinking XML. Ready for everything means at least all of the following:

What Publisher Content is Reusable as Content Objects?

This discussion assumes publishers have appropriate rights to reuse their content.

Content reuse is a strategy that is quickly gaining traction, especially with publishers of educational material. Now academic publishers are picking up on the value of content reuse.

Here is a quick list of general content that academic and educational publishers can reasonably reuse from their print products.