[XML-SIG] Confused and grasping

[Paul Prescod]

What you are saying, Jeff is that you want to be an XML *user* not an
XML software developer. That makes sense. To be a "pure" user, you need
to do is find a package built on top of XML that does what you want
already. That means you need to find a DTD/stylesheet package that meets
your needs. The most likely contender is DocBook. It's large and
complicated but it is done...you don't have to invent or code anything.
You can get Docbook as a package named SGML Tools. 

http://www.sgmltools.org/ (SGML and XML are the same for these purposes)

The Python community will one day have its own package used for the
Python documentation but it doesn't have that yet.

 Paul Prescod

Jeff Blaine wrote:
> 
> In message <14314.38975.299840.687370@amarok.cnri.reston.va.us>you write:
> >Jeff Blaine writes:
> >>Being a Python-head, I downloaded and poked at the XML-SIG's xml-0.5.1.tgz
> >>today, and it all still seems like a programmer's toolkit.  Am I
> >>wrong?
> >>
> >>It seems that xml-0.5.1.tgz is meant for XML gurus who want to develop
> >>Python applications with XML functionality built in.
> >
> >Correct, and it's going to stay that way because the range of possible
> >applications for XML is large.  I think it was Tim Bray who compared
> >XML to ASCII; it's just a data format.  No one advertises "Version 2.0
> >now supports ASCII!", because ASCII isn't exciting, and XML, in
> >itself, isn't that exciting either.  Particular applications of XML
> >may be exciting to you, but other applications may not be.  For
> >example, I'm not really interested in producing formatted printed
> >output from XML, but I am interested in storing bits of data in XML,
> >perhaps inventing a DTD along the way.
> >
> >So, the base XML package is always going to be very nuts-and-bolts,
> >aimed at letting people build basic XML parsing functions into their
> >code.  The hope is that people will build MathML displayers, or
> >DocBook formatters, or ICML servers, using the basic package.  What
> >exactly are you in search of?
> 
> I apologize for this definitely getting out of Python XML-SIG
> boundaries now.
> 
> Okay - I just needed that clarification (above) made to me.  I couldn't
> figure out on my own from the tar.gz and the XML-SIG area on the Python web
> site if I was missing something (being stupid) or not.
> 
> I'm just trying to sink my teeth into XML.  I want to use XML (and I
> guess XSL) to redo my web site (????).
> 
> I want to find or write the DTD for describing something like the
> document found at:
> 
>     http://www.shore.net/~jblaine/code-GCS.html
> 
> (the part starting with 'PyGCS README' centered).  Then with some
> sort of backend formatter dealie I want to generate HTML, maybe
> Postscript, etc...
> 
> Do I just still not understand what XML is?
> 
> I just am tired of writing un-marked or pseudo-marked text only to
> realize I can't do anything with it other than copy it somewhere
> and mark it up by hand into a different format.  I'm seeking a
> single document format I guess....
> 
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