Re : HTML as document source

[Frederic Wronecki <frederic -dot- wronecki -at- WANADOO -dot- FR>]

Shmuel wrote :
> The printed page is the printed page ; the on-line document
> is the on-line document.

Is it really a "Cornelian dilemma" (*) ?

1/ My observation, as a neophyte, is that many Web pages give
very nice results when printed.
2/ Not being an HTML expert, I'd like to know if there are not many
unused (or seldom used) HTML functionalities that could help give
a "satisfactory" paper rendition (I'm thinking of tags that do not
affect screen display but only paper printing).
3/ Are there HTML editors that enable *simultaneous* monitoring
of an HTML document on the Web and on paper ?
4/ As regards the "information process", my conviction is that
online information should now be considered as the unique
reference information, the hardcopy being just a side-product.
We all know the drawbacks of paper, which freezes the information
in an ever-changing world. Then, if some users want a hardcopy,
let them get it, but let them know as well that it becomes
"suspect" as soon as it's printed.


(*) named after French playwright Pierre Corneille whose characters
have to face equally awful alternatives...
--
Frederic Wronecki
France Telecom, Paris, France
mailto:frederic -dot- wronecki -at- wanadoo -dot- fr

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