Information Processing - SGML Support Facilities - Techniques for Using SGML

This Technical Report complements ISO 8879 by providing additional tutorial information. It is not intended, and should not be regarded, as an extension, modification, or interpretation of ISO 8879. The SGML language contains a number of components, some of which are optional features. The tutorial information covers the main components of the language only; notably a discussion of LINK, CONCUR, and DATATAG is outside the scope of this Technical Report.

The intended audience is mainly document type designers already familiar with the basic concepts of SGML, but requiring more tutorial information on techniques for using SGML for various applications. Subclauses 5.3 and 8.4 are written in the style of a "User Guide" and can be used as a basis for end-user documentation. For an introductory tutorial on SGML the annexes of ISO 8879 can be used.

This Technical Report includes notes on the analysis of a document prior to the writing of a formal document type definition, and a series of examples.

The principal example is for a general document type, formally defined as an example in clause E.1 of ISO 8879. Others of a general nature are for letter and memorandum, spreadsheet, mathematics, and the mixing of text and graphics. Those for language applications include Scandinavian rules, Japanese, a European m ultilingual document, and mixing text in languages written from left to right and from right to left.

NOTE - Throughout this Technical Report terms like "is keyed in", and "with keyboarding" are used. This does not necessarily imply that the markup is to be added explicitly by a user; for text entry one would expect structured, context sensitive, editors to be used, or the markup added by application programs, e.g. in the case of interchange of spreadsheets