[StrongED] Re: StrongED Instructions

["Richard Torrens (lists)" <Lists@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

In article <2222d2ab56.John@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
   John Rickman <rickman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>           Steve Fryatt <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> > I think that these days, you're looking at this from the wrong perspective.
> > Don't tie the documentation to /any/ format, but use an-end-result-agnostic
> > format (such as XML) to hold the content.

> Steve has a point. The content is the important stuff and it should be
> produced and maintained is such a way as to make easy for those who
> come later to take on and build on it.
> The danger of creating the source as html/css is we end up with having
> start again should our enterprise run out of steam.

> However, I don't know enough about XML to know if it falls into the
> same trap.

> We could operate a two, or three step process:
> 1. write-up  discrete topics in plain text - anyone in the commmunity
> can do this.
> 2. an expert can wrap the text in XML or whatever
> 3. another expert can generate html, stronghelp, etc

Yes - step 1 is definitely the first thing. Most of the items on the www
area are exactly that  - plain text extracted either from emails or from
StrongHelp instructions.

html can by _very_ easily converted to plain text - so I see no
disadvantage in using html rather than text. html (unless you are being
clever) _is_ plain text, marked up.

I am not expert at CSS so there are no clever effects. Nor will I use
JavaScript.

How do you insert graphics into plain text? Surely screen shots of menus
etc. are useful?

I can very easily give anyone who wants to co-operate access via ftp to
the www site.
  http://diy.Torrens.org/RO/StrongED/man/
I do not do anything clever - I am a writer not a programmer
so maintainance should be no problem.


Unless someone wants to take over management of this project IT WILL BE
HTML. Plain text contributions are welcome of course.

-- 
Richard Torrens.
http://www.Torrens.org for genealogy, natural history, wild food, walks, cats
and more!

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