Advice on DTD's

[Andrew Wheeler]

> ----Original Message-----
> From:	Rick Jelliffe [SMTP:ricko at allette.com.au]
> Sent:	Thursday, June 17, 1999 3:04 PM
> 
>  From: Andrew Wheeler <akwheel at talos.org>
	>> (We do
> >>   not really want to spend time writing bespoke code, which we have
> to
> >> maintain).
> 
> Err...what about HTML?
> 
> You write the DTD in an HTML editor with some JavaScript popup links
> on
> each interesting keyword.
> 
> To generate the text version of the DTD, SaveAs... to text.
> 
> You can hypertext link to any part of the DTD and you don't need to
> buy
> any tools, or sit around waiting for future DTD-in-instance-schema
> tools
> to be marketed.
> 
>   [Andrew Wheeler]  Your solution seems to be exactly what I don't
> want, i.e. writing bespoke code that we have to maintain. Maybe I
> didn't phrase my question correctly. I'll try again without some of
> the waffle (well a bit of it). 
> 
	We have a data model in an XML DTD. We need to describe the
elements and attributes of the data model (context, usage, allowable
values, examples, CM info etc.). We would like a tool (COTS fully
supported for clients peace of mind) that will allow us to hold the
model and descriptions in one place. Separation of the model and the
descriptions will give us a maintenance headache as we expect the model
to evolve over time. This is our first requirment. We would also like
there to be HTML output so our developers can navigate the model, see
the descriptions of the elements and attributes and not buy the tool,
again if possible (Rational Rose 98i for UML models does this). Our
second requirement. 

	We are currently using Near and Far, which does not do exactly
what we want (allows comments at a single level, i.e. attribute list
comment, not element comment and attribute comment), and are mystified
at the lack of GOOD tool support for a technology that is heralded as
the saviour of the web!! From your response, and others, then I think
maybe we are asking too much, also given the fact that XML Schema is on
the way this limited tool support may change direction anyway! Are we
being unreasonable?

	Regards

	Andrew    

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