Single-sourcing tool

[linda_sims at vanguard.com]

Elizabeth Allen wrote on 01/05/2007 10:14:43 AM:

> Hi Robert,
> 
> I'll do my best to explain, but I'm one of the LaTeX newbies, so try and
> cut me some slack please! (Not to mention that I can't divulge trade
> secrets, so all you get is generic info--sorry!)
> 
> We are writing documentation for related chips--much of the information 
is
> the same for all of the products in the family, but it also overlaps in
> weird ways.
> 
> \ifthenelse(A + (\not B + \not C))(true_statement)(false_statement)
> is what we use in LaTeX to help sort out the conditions
> 
> For example, Chip A is exactly the same as chip B, except that chip B 
has
> certain functions removed. Chip C is also based on Chip A, but has some
> things removed and others added. There are also chips D, E, and F in the
> pipeline, all based on chip A, but their functionality has not yet been
> completely defined and tends to change from time to time. *But* because
> these chips are all based on A, the A condition = true for all of them.
> 
> That's because we also have chip families I, II, III; and a, b, c; and 
i,
> ii, iii. And they all have documentation, much of which is common to all
> the families.
> 
> Different customers get different chips, thus different capabilities,
> along with different price points. You can see why we can't let info 
slip
> through the cracks.
> 
> This is why Framemaker, with its simple OR conditional, can't do what we
> need it to do. And why I need help finding a tool that can.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Elizabeth


West Street Consulting has a free plugin for use with structured 
FrameMaker that is supposed to handle complex conditionals. It _may_ do 
what you need, but I haven't worked with it so I don't really know.

URL: http://www.weststreetconsulting.com/WSC_ABCM.htm

Blurb from site:

ABCM is a comprehensive conditional text replacement tool for structured 
Frame, allowing you to use structural attributes to indicate and manage 
your conditions, instead of traditional conditional text tags. This 
methodology, along with the advanced features of the plugin, provides the 
following advantages:

* Simplified management of multiple, overlapping conditions 

* Whole file conditionalization within a book 

* Detailed coloring of single and overlapping conditions as you specify, 
eliminating the automatic assignment of magenta text 

* Natural preservation of conditions through XML and SGML roundtripping, 
including support for tokenized strings of values 

* Storage of an unlimited amount of non-publishable material (such as 
authoring comments and draft content) in your source files, with a 
guarantee that it will always be removed before publishing 

* Convenience of element boundaries to delimit conditions, rather than 
error-prone condition tags 

* Simplified show/hide process, using "schemes" to program and run the 
filtering logic (no more Show/Hide box confusion!) 

HTH

Lin Sims
The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion 
of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was 
accessed.

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