Newsgroups: comp.text.sgml Path: utzoo!sq!dns From: dns@sq.sq.com (David Slocombe) Subject: The SGML Handbook is out Message-ID: <1991Jan13.225050.10045@sq.sq.com> Summary: Is printed and bound, and should be in the stores about now Keywords: SGML, markup languages, Charles Goldfarb Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto Date: Sun, 13 Jan 91 22:50:50 GMT Lines: 126 I have in my hands the long-awaited book by "the father of SGML", Charles Goldfarb (IBM Almaden Research Center), edited and with a forward by Yuri Rubinsky (SoftQuad Inc.). Here's the reference: Goldfarb, Charles F. The SGML Handbook. (N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1990) ISBN 0-19-853737-9 664pp. This book contains *all* of the ISO 8879 standard (with the 1988 amendments merged in) -- from the original machine-readable source -- rearranged, heavily annotated, cross-referenced and indexed, and with much additional tutorial and reference material. It seems to me that this book will simply *replace* the ISO document for most of us who work intensively with SGML. I have no idea what the price will be, but I am sure that you can place your orders now! Here's the Table of Contents: Forward ...................................................ix Preface ...................................................xii How to Use This Book ......................................xvii Part One: Tutorials .......................................1 Annex A: Introduction to Generalized Markup ...............5 Annex B: Basic Concepts ...................................18 Annex C: Additional Concepts ..............................66 Tutorial D: Link in a Nutshell ............................92 Part Two: A Structured Overview of SGML ...................109 Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................121 Chapter 2: Text Processing Application ....................123 Chapter 3: SGML Application ...............................125 Chapter 4: SGML Document ..................................132 Chapter 5: Processing Model ...............................171 Chapter 6: Storage Model ..................................178 Chapter 7: Character Sets .................................192 Chapter 8: Markup Declarations ............................204 Chapter 9: Conformance ....................................214 Part Three: ISO 8879 Annotated ............................217 Clause 0: Introduction ....................................238 Clause 1: Scope ...........................................246 Clause 2: Field of Application ............................248 Clause 3: References ......................................249 Clause 4: Definitions .....................................251 Clause 5: Notation ........................................290 Clause 6: Entity Structure ................................293 Clause 7: Element Structure ...............................302 Clause 8: Processing Instruction ..........................339 Clause 9: Common Constructs ...............................342 Clause 10: Markup Declarations: General ...................370 Clause 11: Markup Declarations: Document Type Definition ..402 Clause 12: Markup Declarations: Link Process Definition ...433 Clause 13: SGML Declaration ...............................450 Clause 14: Reference and Core Concrete Syntaxes ...........476 Clause 15: Conformance ....................................478 Part Four: ISO 8879 Annexes ...............................495 Annex D: Public Text ......................................498 Annex E: Application Examples .............................530 Annex F: Implementation Considerations ....................543 Annex G: Conformance Classification and Certification .....551 Annex H: Theoretical Basis for the SGML Content Model .....556 Annex I: Nonconforming Variations .........................561 Appendices ................................................565 Appendix A: A Brief History of the Development of SGML ....567 Appendix B: ISO/IEC JTC1/SC18/WG8/N1035: Recommendation for a Possible Revision of ISO 8879 .....571 Appendix C: About the ISO 8879 Text .......................594 Appendix D: Sources of SGML Information ...................605 Index .....................................................609 Needless to say, SGML itself contributed to the production of the book. Also, an enormous amount of thought and effort -- by many people -- went into its typographic design and production. This was *not* an easy book to typeset, but *I* think the result is both pleasing and effective. The last page, p.664, is a traditional "colophon" page describing the production of the book. As this will be of particular interest to readers of this newsgroup, I will quote it in full (I'm sure Oxford won't mind): COLOPHON The SGML Handbook was created from two sets of files: parts (including the original text of ISO 8879) keyed in using IBM GML and converted to SGML using the GML2SGML converter developed by Wayne Wohler of IBM; and new material, dictated by the author, transcribed and keyboarded using SoftQuad Author/Editor, an SGML-sensitive text editor. The merged files were parsed to ensure their conformance using the validating SGML parser originally programmed by Charles Goldfarb to test ISO 8879 during its development, and by the parser used in Author/Editor. Interim proofs of portions of the book were produced by IBM's Document Composition Facility. Conversion for final formatting was performed by SoftQuad's SQML program; the book was typeset using SoftQuad Publishing Software v.2.9. Mechanicals of the composed pages were imaged by Philippe Robitaille at Agfa Canada Inc. using the Agfa 9600PS Imagesetter and the Agfa CAPS corporate publishing system. The excerpts from ISO 8879 are set in Helvetica, the preferred typeface for ISO documents. The remainder of the text, including the annotations, is set in Adobe's Palatino font (based on Hermann Zapf's original typeface). Oh yes! One nice touch is that the book has two (!) ribbons for marking places in the text. (I guess we'll need 'em!) ---------------------------------------------------------------- David Slocombe (416) 963-8337 Vice-President, Research & Development (800) 387-2777 (from U.S. only) SoftQuad Inc. uucp: {uunet,utzoo}!sq!dns 720 Spadina Ave. Internet: dns@sq.com Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2T9 Fax: (416) 963-9575