TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
> A potential client creates sw for a rapidly growing
> customer base. They
> customize their doc for each customer, which
> requires tons of conditional
> text, and my guess is that this will soon become
> unwieldy. They currently
> use FM and RoboHelp. Would XML improve their
> efficiency? Why? How?
XML is not a wonder elixer. You don't apply it and
watch cool things happen. You need to analyze the
situation and see if using XML might be beneficial.
So, to answer your question more directly: Maybe.
> I have read through the archives and the recommended
> articles, and I
> understand the basics of how XML works (tags,
> structure, etc.), but I don't
> understand why or how XML improves efficiency. I
> just don't understand the
> advantages of using XML.
Well, XML is a term that is usually used (to a fault?)
to describe structured information processing and
control using data tagged with XML markup. There's a
lot more to "XML" than just XML. You have XSLTs,
schemas, and perhaps DTDs, EDDs, and more, depending
on how you implement XML into your workflow and infrastructure.
=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)
"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
-- Geoff Hart
We can't all be as creative with sigs as krautgrrl. ;-)