Abstract: "Various components of an SGML system are examined using a graphical framework; where applicable, software applications and the relevance of XML are reviewed within this framework. Using a broad concept of an SGML document, the following tools which work with these documents are discussed, including their interrelationships: authoring, conversion, document management, and output. The basic structure of a document is a DTD, a set of rules for applying SGML to the markup of a document ('tagging'). SGML Editors make possible the creation of information using SGML tags from the DTD. Conversion tools facilitate changing data to and from various coding schemes. Document managers permit a number of functions, including revision control, and coordination of the other tools. Having defined content with these tools, formatters use output specifications to control the output of data in a formatted fashion. The introduction of XML increases the importance of application documentation as XML removes the requirement of a DTD."

"Abstract: We address the problem of automating the display of database records in an intelligent way. By this we mean the synthesis of complete multimedia documents from database records. We propose an architecture for mapping diverse data stored in a database to markup language (SGML) programs. These programs are ready for final presentation. The mapping is based on a computational extension of the linguistic concept of registers. The resulting presentation represents data as information in an intelligent way. General conditions for such a system are discussed. Our own treatment of registers as rule-based computational structures is offered with some early results on the behaviour of rule-based registers."

Abstract: "The Publications Division of SAS Institute needed a way to replace the hardcopy formatting tools it had been using, and also faced the challenge of producing online documentation for its large variety of software products. After deciding to implement an SGML solution using Adept, the Institute decided to apply good software engineering and programming principles to the effort and develop a modular, maintainable store of declarative SGML structures and custom executables. This paper describes the implementation of that system."

Abstract: "This article advocates the use of SGML technology for the creation, dissemination, and display of Web documents. It presents a software architecture that allows for defining the operational interpretation of arbitrary document types by means of style sheets, written in a scripting language. Our approach has been motivated by a desire to extend the functionality of the Web with support for multimedia and active documents. Although growing in complexity, HTML is still lacking in functionality. We prefer a more flexible and generic approach, as enabled by the employment of SGML."

"After a brief introduction to SGML, we will illustrate how our approach accommodates (extensions of) HTML as well as arbitrary SGML documents containing multimedia data such as video and audio. We will then briefly sketch the software components used in the realization of our approach and discuss some topics for further research."

Abstract: "The presentation will be a summary of a project at the University of Oslo, where about 80 persons have been working with SGML. The way we work with SGML is a bit different from many others. We want to use SGML as an infrastructure, applied to a wide range of documents. In this presentation I will summarize the evaluation of the project, and the interviews that I have done with some of the writers."

Abstract: "The Astrophysical Journal, published by the University of Chicago Press for the American Astronomical Society, is a large and complex scientific journal of more than 25,000 pages per year. Over the last several years the production system for this publication has been re-engineered to be SGML-based, including on-screen SGML copy editing, exporting SGML for conventional typesetting, and producing an online HTML edition from the SGML archive. The most difficult part of the implementation was the use of SGML math and the problems encountered in translating complex mathematics between LaTeX, TeX, SGML, ASCII, HTML, and two different commercial typesetting systems. The key benefits of this implementation were (1) reduced conventional production costs, (2) the creation of additional electronic products, and (3) the establishment of a rigorous framework for future non-text content."

Abstract: "The World Wide Web is fast becoming the de facto repository of preference for on-line information, yet the technology of the Web has inadvertently created barriers for people with disabilities. Worldwide, more than 750 million people with disabilities (more than 100 million in Europe alone) are affected by the emergence of the Web, directly or indirectly. In order to 'push the envelope' of information access and truly realize the full potential of the Web, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) intends to take a leadership role in removing accessibility barriers by launching the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI, pronounced 'WAY').

"Mr. Paciello, creator of the WAI, will discuss the initiative's goals and mission and how SGML plays a major role in the advancement of information accessibility."

[No abstract available.]

Abstract: "Microsoft cofounded the XML working group at the W3C in July 96 and actively participated in the definition of the standard. This article describes why Microsoft implemented its first XML application and how it led to the development of two XML parsers shipping in Internet Explorer 4.0, one written in C++ and the other in Java. We describe the importance of designing an object model API and our vision of XML as a universal, open data format for the Internet."

Abstract: "The importance of reuse of information is well recognised for electronic publishing. However, it is rarely achieved satisfactorily because of the complexity of the task: integrating different formats, handling updates of information, addressing the document author's need for intuitiveness and simplicity, etc. An approach which addresses these problems is to dynamically generate and update documents through a descriptive definition of virtual documents. We present a document interpreter that allows information to be gathered from multiple sources and combined dynamically to produce a virtual document. Two strengths of our approach are: the generic information objects that we use, which enable access to distributed, heterogeneous data sources; and the interpreter's evaluation strategy, which permits a minimum re-evaluation of the information objects from the data sources."

"The RIO (Reuse of Information Objects) project aims to develop techniques which can support information reuse in various contexts. The focus of the project is currently on the specification and interpretation of virtual documents to enable reuse of structured information from heterogeneous sources. The instructions for the construction of virtual documents are stored in a document prescription, which is processed by the document interpreter to generate or update a virtual document. An editor facilitates the writing of the document prescriptions; it is connected to the document interpreter in order to provide dynamic editing. The document prescription consists of: 1) Static data, or the structure and the text that does not change in the document; 2) Queries, or the commands needed to generate the dynamic part of the document; 3) Transformation instructions, to convert the reused information objects into new document objects. The document prescription is written as an SGML document or as one of its derivatives such as HTML or XML, that might not enforce compliance to a formal DTD. Static data is expressed using normal SGML constructs. Queries and transformation instructions are expressed as SGML Processing Instructions (PI). There are two kinds of queries: native queries, which send requests to the data sources in their specific language (e.g., SQL for a relational database, URL for an HTML server), and pick queries, written in an OQL-like language that we designed to combine results and provide search capabilities for semi-structured information."

Abstract: "The article presents an intelligent information agent which provides just-in-time help to flight simulator maintenance technicians. The agent, called STEALTH, is embedded within an information management system, TOPSS, and works as a personal digital assistant (PDA) for information filtering. It provides users with intelligent guidance to useful information within a given context, taking user's preferences into account. STEALTH offers numerous advantages compared to several other information filtering paradigms: (1) its intelligence is based on an artificial neural network (ANN) technology which can easily add new documents to its knowledge base, as well as learn and forget user's preferences; (2) its information search strategy includes theme indexing and stemming, which goes beyond the use of full text keywords; (3) it can take advantage of an SGML document base, retrieving documents at different granularity levels (paragraph, section, chapter, document); and (4) it allows users to build their own collection of documents using available document parts. The approach taken in the development of STEALTH is outlined here: from the ergonomic task analysis to the actual implementation and testing of the agent. Although STEALTH is presently only used within a flight simulator context, it is believed that its generic design will make it applicable to a wide range of domains. In effect, one only has to provide the agent with the document base to be used in order to profile the agent for the new context."

Abstract: "A significant economical objective at Norsk Hydro is to reduce the time and cost of maintaining equipment used in oil production.

"According to NORSOK (NORsk SOkkels Konkuranseposisjon, or in English the competitive standing of the Norwegian offshore sector), 50% of the development cost of an off-shore installation is related to information. NORSOK is the Norwegian initiative to reduce development and operation cost for the off-shore oil and gas industry. An important part of this effort is to develop cost efficient standards to replace individual oil company specifications.

"In this case study we will explain the implementation of an interactive system to improve the accessibility of technical supplier documentation by utilising the SGML standard."

Abstract: "A significant economical objective at Norsk Hydro is to reduce the time and cost of maintaining equipment used in oil production.

"According to NORSOK (NORsk SOkkels Konkuranseposisjon or in English the competitive standing of the Norwegian offshore sector), 50% of the development cost of an off-shore installation, is related to information. That will explain why there is substantial savings in make the information management process and methods more efficient.

"In this case study we will explain the implementation of an integrated, interactive system to improve the accessibility of information needed for the maintenance procedures at an off-shore installation by utilising the SGML standard. This system contains all the relevant parts in an information management process like authoring, storage and information distribution."

Abstract: "Wärtsilä Diesel is the largest medium speed diesel engine manufacturer in the world, with offices and factories all over the world. This is a case study where Wartsila Diesel Power Plant provides an editorial system for their subcontractors, so that they can easily produce content oriented information modules, based on the physical equipment breakdown structure (EBS) according to the WD Base-DTD. The study also covers the production system that is used in Wartsila to maintain and to produce presentation-oriented technical manuals from the content oriented information modules delivered by the subcontractors. We will also cover the background and problems of handling lots of information coming from several sources in different formats, why WD decided to implement an CALS/SGML information environment and what they achieved so far.

The editorial system consists of the WD Base-DTD that is mapped in SGML Author to templates in Microsoft WORD and a database that is used for mapping the information modules into the correct level in the EBS. This editorial system makes it very easy to author content oriented information, because of the familiar wordprocessor that helps the user to navigate in the DTD without having any knowledge about SGML. The key thing in the application is having an interface of a database from where the author chooses an information module and puts in information by using the next legal style, which follow the structure in the WD Base-DTD.

The production system consists of tools for navigating, searching, browsing and publishing of the technical information from the main repository. When the subcontractor delivers the technical information, it will be analysed in Wartsila Diesel and if it becomes approved it is saved into a main repository for the information. The main tool in the production system is a browser that is configured to the relational database (main repository) that holds the EBS with the associated information modules. The tool is used for searching, viewing and publishing of the information modules in a very object oriented way. By choosing publish, the user can produce information products, such as IETM, Online and/or paper manuals very easy by 'dragging and dropping'."

[A presentation based upon the author's popular "Whirlwind Guide to SGML Tools and Vendors."]

Abstract: "SGML products could make 'good SGML' easier by separating tabular display from tabular data organization more thoroughly. This presentation will describe and discuss the structural versus display approaches to tabular data in SGML, and will describe the author's dream table-oriented capabilities for display-oriented SGML tools, especially editors. In the process, there will be provided a description of various simple and more complicated tabular structures. We don't accept products that only recognize one or two DTDs in general; why should we for tables?"

"There is a difference between tabular display of data and tabular organization of data. Tabular display involves how data is placed on the screen or page, whereas tabular organization involves the semantic relationships between various pieces of data. Most programs, such as SGML-aware editors, that provide a tabular data display currently require that the SGML markup for the data directly indicate how it is to be displayed, rather than any structural relationship between the pieces of data, and generally require that all data to be displayed tabularly be marked up to the same DTD fragment (hereinafter called a 'schema'). This should not be necessary. My 'dream' is that it not be necessary."

Abstract: "There are differences of opinion as to how the current SGML standard (ISO 8879 as amended in 1988) should be interpreted with respect to the handling of the characters that make up the SGML documents it describes. But a consensus has pretty well been achieved as to how the revision now being worked on will treat 'characters' and 'character strings', and how the 'character sets' described in an SGML declaration will be interpreted and used. This paper presents the character model that is being considered by the group working on the revision of ISO 8879 (the SGML Raporteur Group of ISO/IEC JTC1 SC 18 WG8).

Characters are recognized as 'abstract' data types, just as, for example, are integers. The new model will not assume, for example, that characters of a given character repertoire are always represented by fixed-width bit strings and that strings of characters are not always represented by direct concatenation of the representations of single characters.

The new character model clarifies the relationship between the character representations being used by an SGML system, the character representations used to store external entities, and the character sets described in the SGML declarations of SGML documents. It provides for the possibility of character representation information being in the SGML declaration's 'document character set' description or the 'formal system identifier' of an entity, or even being provided via external-to-the-document, system-dependent means."

Abstract: "SGML was designed in an environment where other-than-8-bit character representations were only vaguely known and not understood. The designers did not differentiate between (abstract) characters and the bit-patterns by which they are represented in machines. This resulted in a character-handling model that is no longer adequate in many respects. In addition, there have surfaced differences of opinion as to how the current SGML standard (ISO 8879 as amended in 1988) should be interpreted with respect to the handling of the characters that make up the SGML documents it describes.

"A new character and character-string model has been adopted by the SGML Rapporteur Group within WG8 [now WG4], where the ISO 8879 revision is being prepared. The new model encompasses handling of variable-width-character string representations such as Shift-JIS, and outside-the-document specification of character representations, as well as the traditional 'document character set' specification.

"A Technical 'Correction' to ISO 8879 was made official in 1996, which made it more feasible to use SGML with very-large-character-set languages such as Japanese and Chinese, for use on SGML systems not constrained to an 8-bit character set.

"This presentation will explain the distinction between (abstract) characters and the computer representations of characters, and will explain the new character handling model in terms thereof. It will further explain the relationship to the old character-handling model of 1986, and how older systems may be upgraded, and what is possible when still running under the old (1986/88) rules. This involves the relationship of the 'document character set' to the way systems may actually represent characters, and the use or non-use of the 'shunned character numbers' specification."