DocBook vs. DITA: revisited

The Content Wrangler has published a very interesting article by Dick Hamilton on choosing an XML schema.

I get asked very similar questions all the time! I think I'll start sending folks to this article as recommended reading...

The last candidate release?

Norm Walsh has released DocBook v5.0CR5, which will (hopefully) be the last candidate release so we can get the official v5.0 ball rolling!

Please test this release thoroughly!

This release also incorporates recommendations on schema modularizations from the DocBook SubCommittee for Publishers. Much of the schema was already modularized, thanks to Norm's forward thinking and best practices.

DocBook v5.0 CR3 already!

Norm Walsh is quick on the turnaround! Please give the latest candidate release of DocBook v5 a test drive and report any issues. You can download the schemas here: http://docbook.org/xml/5.0CR3/. There is also a set of stylesheets released that support v5.0 as well. You can find them here:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=21935&package_id=219178

I was a bit of a "problem child" with my RFEs that are now included:

• RFE 1588693: Added an <acknowledgements> element, peer to <dedication>, replacing <ackno> which had only been available at the end of <article>.
• allow <info> in HTML tables.

You can specifically blame me for these. :-) I do think they will be quite useful enhancements.

DocBook v5.0 CR2 released!

Hot off the press, courtesy of Norm Walsh! Please give the latest candidate release of DocBook v5 a test drive and report any issues. You can download the schemas here: http://docbook.org/xml/5.0CR2/. There is also a set of stylesheets released that support v5.0 as well. You can find them here:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=21935&package_id=219178

If you're not RelaxNG, you are working too hard!

After reading Elliotte Rusty Harold and Tim Bray's blog entries, I'm glad I'm no longer in the minority!

I've been preaching the adoption of RelaxNG as your native schema format since Norm Walsh created the initial drafts of DocBook v5.0. It just makes sense. And for those of us who have always been more comfortable with DTD-like syntax, Relax NG Compact is definitely the way to go!

Long live RelaxNG, and down with XSD!

Categories: XML