discuss: DocBook is a catastrophe
Subject:
DocBook is a catastrophe
From:
Yves Bellefeuille ####@####.####
Date:
13 Dec 2005 02:36:25 -0000
Message-Id: <200512122136.17693.yan@storm.ca>
My Hard Disk Upgrade Mini How-To has been part of the LDP since July
1997. I'm working on another How-To, and I've been trying to learn
DocBook. I'm convinced that this format, at present, is a catastrophe,
and that we're discouraging many possible contributors by using it.
DocBook is the COBOL of mark-up languages. It's incredibly verbose, and
doing anything takes much longer than it should.
Perhaps there's a tool to help prepare mark-up, but if so, it's a
well-kept secret. The LDP Author Guide recommends Eric Raymond's
"DocBook Demystification HOWTO", and it bluntly states that:
"One thing we presently do not have is a good open-source structure
editor for SGML/XML documents."
and that:
"Most people still hack the tags by hand using either vi or emacs."
I did try "txt2docbook". It produces DocBook all right, but it's
completely based on appearance, not structure. It has lots of <para>
commands, and nothing at all for tables and program listings and so on.
You might as well use HTML and <pre>.
I'm convinced that we're shooting ourselves in the foot by recommending
DocBook at this time.
--
Yves Bellefeuille
####@####.####
