Keywords: XML Editor, Structured Editor, Distributed Collaboration, Tagging, XML Tools
Biography
Mr. Waldt has more than 20 years experience in developing structured information systems using SGML, XML and Web technologies. Currently, Dale consults to leading organizations in the legal, regulatory, and compliance publishing arena. Clients include pharmaceutical, healthcare, and government organizations such as Minnesota Senate, New Mexico Supreme Court, pharmaceutical and health care companies, and others. Previously, Mr. Waldt was VP Product Technology for RIA, the tax and accounting division of Thomson. Dale writes, speaks, and teaches regularly world wide on XML and Web development.
XML editors have traditionally been modeled after the first SGML editor written in 1985, a long time before creating, managing, and distributing structured information was well understood. Now, nearly 20 years later, there are more choices for users interested in creating structured information. Specifically, this presentation discusses alternatives that include Web-based distributed collaborative XML document creation, "tag-free" tools, non-formatting structured editors, and even using common office tools in creating your XML documents.
1. Distributed Collaboration
2. Tag-Free Editing
3. Non-Formatted Editing
4. Leveraging Existing Office Tools
5. Presentation Available at...
The Web reaches into most organizations today and is an inexpensive method to connect users. Tools have emerged that enable collaborative editing of structured information across the Web. These tools now include including XML editing, peer review, and version control and journaling. Collaboration in this way reduces the complexity of hosted content management solutions, and even avoids costs and delays attributed to shipping physical pages or media.
Tag-free editors are interesting to authors who want to focus on the information rather than the tagging or editing tool. Of course there has to be some sort of method for implying the structure of the information, but rather than use the often cumbersome tagging metaphor of most XML tools. A popular means of writing simple discussion threads on the Web is the use of WIKI's. A WIKI gives the writer a simple interface and a few characters that act as "markup" (remember Datatag from SGML) but without the need for angle brackets and graphic tag icons. Another approach that minimizes the need for tagging is a graphical interface that uses color coding and sequence to assemble information components. Both of these approaches minimize the dependence on complicated tagging and create an intuitive interface for creating fairly complex information.
There are classes of XML users who do not have the privilege of working with completely valid, or even well-formed, XML data all the time. Typically, production and keying environments find structured, formatting XML editors too cumbersome and opt for plain text editors instead. Tools have emerged that focus solely on structure, and not formatting, to ease the process of cleansing and completing data in the process of becoming well-formed or valid. A significant amount of format development can be avoided for these applications used by editors that are already familiar with the tag structures and find the formatting of most XML editors to be more bother than they are worth.
Many organizations have sought to leverage their existing investment in non-structured office tools such as Microsoft Word and Excel. Microsoft Office 2003 enables the creations of truly structured documents within Word or Excel. Tapping into MS Office's XML capabilities requires some non-trivial development, but applications are emerging as plug-ins for Office that focus on the requirements of a specific audience.
A Complete copy of this presentation will be available at http://axtiveminds.com/presentations/editors.pdf. Feel free to peruse other presentations and papers while you are there.
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