Re: Documentation Databases

Subject: Re: Documentation Databases
From: Michael Priestley <mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 16:50:34 EST

David Janus (davidj -at- expertez -dot- com) writes:
>So here's the question: does anybody have experience with maintaining
>documentation text in some sort of database format which can easily be
>exported to both print and online documents? Any hints, comments,
>suggestions, etc., etc., would be greatly appreciated.

Most of the processes we've used have depended on in-house tools, and
custom-written filters.

For some general hints and tips, though, I will shamelessly refer you to
my paper in the SIGDOC 95 proceedings: "Online Design for a Single-Sourced
Document".

For a more speculative discussion of the possibilities of a true documentation
database, I will shamelessly refer you to "Rethinking the Reference Manual",
co-authored by me, in the SIGDOC 96 proceedings.

The proceedings should be available at a reference library, or from ACM
directly (http://www.acm.org).


Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
mpriestley -at- acm -dot- org

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