XML in the Wilderness
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Transcript of XML in the Wilderness
Copyright © Stilo International 2008
XML in the WildernessJoe Gollner
Vice PresidentStilo International
Patron Saint of Content Management
Saint Jerome - Caravaggio (1605)
Saint Jerome (347 – 420 AD)Patron Saint of Libraries, Librarians, Archivists and Encyclopaedists
St Jerome in his Study - Antonello da Messina (1460)
XML in the Wilderness
A Little Background
A Brief History of Content Technologies
What about Content?
Pointing towards the Hypertext Horizon
St Jerome in the WildernessAlbrecht Dürer (1495)
Markup and the Curious World of Content
1705
Inter-TextualityReference | Reuse | Republish | Ridicule
Jonathan Swift John Dunton
A Brief History of Content Technologies
Where did content technologies come from?
What lessons can we take from this history?
Does it help us see XML differently?
Does this shed light on how we might create and sharecontent in the future?
In the Beginning
…were table(t)s…
…and books…
Memex
1940 1960 1980 2000
Adapting to the Exponential Growth inKnowledge Resources
Some “Provocative” Definitions
DataData is the meaningful representation of experience
InformationInformation is the meaningful organization of data communicated in a specific context with the purpose of informing others
KnowledgeKnowledge is the meaningful organization of information, expressing an evolving understanding of a subject and establishing a basis for judgment and the potential for action.
ContentWhat is “contained” and “communicated”
Accommodates Data, Information, and Knowledge
The Knowledge Dynamic
The persistence of content is what has allowed thisdynamic to accelerate at an exponential rate
Knowledge Application with Technology
1940 1960 1980 2000
Leveraging Knowledge through Automation
The modern organization cannot survivewithout automation as a means to
encapsulate & leverage knowledge
Augmenting Human Intelligence
1940 1960 1980 2000
Leveraging Automation to Assist Personal and Team Productivity
Douglas Engelbart
Workstation - 1966
Workstation - 1968
The Internet
1940 1960 1980 2000
Connecting Organizations to form Knowledge Enterprises
Enterprise: bold, imaginative undertakingenabled by the sharing of knowledge
The Vision of Hyper-Text
1940 1960 1980 2000
Envisioning content forms that reflect how people think and collaborate
Theodor (Ted) Holm Nelson
Proprietary Content FormatsLimiting the Interchangeability and Usefulness of all data types
CALS – Tackling the Interchange ProblemGOAL
Supplier and Client
STDS
INTERIM SOLUTION
Supplier ClientSupplier
PROBLEM
Client
1940 1960 1980 2000
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
1940 1960 1980 2000
SGML
SGMLReflected human communication patterns
Provided substantial flexibility
Automated processing was “difficult”
Adopted in documentation-intensive sectors
Military, Aerospace and Commercial Publishing
The Key Innovation of SGML: naming something (understanding) is different than describing what should be done with it (behaviour)
naming something is the important part
naming something and defining its behaviour benefits from sophistication
Charles GoldfarbThe Fatherof SGML
The World Wide Web
1940 1960 1980 2000
Where there’s a Will there’s a Way
World Wide Web – The Success of Simplicity
Original Objective (1989)“to allow information sharing within
internationally dispersed teams”
HTML: a simple use of a complex standard
The Key Innovation of the Web:deciding what to do (intention) is different than determining how it should be done (execution)
deciding what to do is the important part
communicating an intention and successfully executing it benefits from simplicity
Sir Tim Berners-LeeThe Fatherof the Web
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
1940 1960 1980 2000
Source: Microsoft
The Key Innovations of XML
The Key Innovations of XML:Fusing the innovations of SGML and the Web
naming something (understanding) is different than describing what should be done with it (behaviour)
deciding what to do (intention) is different than determining how it should be done (execution)
XML exhibits an unresolved tension between Sophistication
to meet the needs of application integration
Simplicity
to meet the needs of people interacting with technology
Yuri RubinskyThe Spiritual Father
of XML
XML
The driving focus for XMLhas been facilitating a revolution in the way technology applications are designed, developed and deployed
This addressed the failure of preceding approaches to adapt to genuinely open systems
This focus explains a great deal about the character of XML
Web 2.0 – The Social Web
1940 1960 1980 2000 2010
The secondrevolution inweb adoption
Emergentconsequenceof integration
Web 2.0 – All About Engagement
Web 2.0 has been called “The Participatory Web”
Key technical elements include:AJAX – Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
simple syndication protocols – RSS / ATOM
simplified web services – Aggregator APIs
Folksonomies – collaborative tagging
Processable content – XHTML / CSS / Microformats
Addressable, traceable, dynamic, collaborative content – wiki / blog
Much closer to the original idea behind the ‘web’
The centrality of XML in making this possible is often missed
What About Content?
What XML has meant for Content Authors
Authoring in XML exhibits two contradictory challengesToo much markup
Gets in the way of creating content
Forces a reliance on unfamiliar tools
Adds a level of technical complexityto what is a creative task
Not enough markup
Some content demands precision
Authors need clear guidance anduseful feedback in orderto satisfy this demand
As more content is delivered to applications, this is more common
What XML has meant for Information Architects
Information ModelingSyntax stabilization (restriction)
Vocabulary definition constraints
Models mirror communicationpatterns less naturally
Sought simplicity & processability
New language for declaring rules
XML Schema (data constraints)
ImplementationSpecific constraints on markup use
Encourages instance verbosity
Many complexities reintroduced
Application challenges remained
What XML has meant for Publishers
Authoring with Structured Markup
Multi-Format Automatic Publishing
XML
What XML has really meant for Publishers
Continuous Collaboration
Persistent Multi-Channel
Interaction
XML
Content Happens
What is the nature of content really?Is it just the physical trace of an expression?
Is it always new and original?
No - Not really
Or does content mix what previously existed with something new?
Yes – More Likely
Maybe contentis fundamentally synthetic (an aggregate or composite)
accumulates over time and evolves continuously through use
is far from static and follows a path that is not predictable
Maybe content is more of a process than a product?
Embedded Markup Considered Harmful (1997)
Theodor (Ted) Holm Nelson
Ted NelsonHas been a vocal critic of structured markup
Sees it as an impediment & an intrusion
Primary Objections to Embedded MarkupComplicates editing & change tracking
Impedes transpublishing
Reuse must be unimpeded
Reuse often introduces changes
Enforces unnatural & constraining structures on communication
What is needed would accommodate:The “anarchic and overlapping relations”
“deep version management”
the “vast interconnectedness of ideas” ... Hypertext
Something on the Hypertext Horizon
Online Access
Wireless Access
Topics
Print Manuals
Customers
Call Centre Staff
Maps ProductsRepositoriesSources
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)
Emerging out of the relatively mundane world of softwareand hardware documentation. An assemblage of “SGML Dirty Tricks”…
The Tao of DITA: Handling Variability & Change
Introduces and continues to evolve a framework for handling contentand its challenges more gracefully. Application layers are given a chance.
Topic
Task ReferenceConcept
Specialization
BaseElements
highlight programming software UI
new semantics specialization
Dom
ainsA
pplications
Type Hierarchy
DefaultBehaviour
Core BehaviourSpecializations
SpecificOverrides
Maps
DITA enables an interesting mix of practices
Promotes simplified markup for most content
Allows specialization to be introducedWhen more detailed markup guidelines help authors
When precise markup is essential for downstream applications
Is introducing more sophisticated reuse behaviour
The Emergence of Content TechnologiesThe initial focus of XML has not been on content
DITA represents a serious effort to direct attention towards the challenges of content
The appearance of Web 2.0 is a sign that the infrastructure is maturing in its content handling
Simplified interfaces
Dynamic version management
Instant global interaction
Hypertext is becoming possible
XML Returns from the Wilderness
Saint JeromeHeaded into isolation in the Syrian Desert
Learned Hebrew
Was able to create a new Latin translation of the bible (Vulgate)
Established the standard reference
XMLThe fruits of success in application integration are being seen (Web 2.0)
DITA shows promise
Addressing key content challenges
Leveraging more of the SGML legacy
Creating industry momentum St Jerome in his StudyAlbrecht Dürer (1492)
Conclusion
We can start tohandle & leverage content in its true hypertext form -- for the first time
Joe GollnerVP e-Publishing SolutionsStilo [email protected]