[TriLUG] Fwd: Re: [docbook-apps] db for math/chem dissertation/thesis

[Mike Mueller]

Here's a response from Bob Stayton on the docbook-apps list.  Bob is one the 
most knowledgeable people on the list.  He is the author of the sagehill 
reference I linked in a previous message.

Looks like SGML/XML is an uphill climb for some advanced tasks.  Looks like 
an area ready for some pioneering work. WYSIWYG in acedemia is a chilling 
thought.  Acedemia beholden to Redmond. B-r-r-r!  OpenOffice is OK I guess if 
it's XML in source form. LaTeX is venerable but is not browser oriented 
(IIRC). Gotta get beyond this paper thing.

Academia's  requirements are similar to those of the legal trade (this is not 
meant to demean the honest trades: plumbing, carpentry, software hacking) in 
that documents need to be single sourced, multi-media published, and 
enduring.  The legals are picking up on XML it seems.  It seems that the 
academicians should head in the same direction.  We all require openness, of 
course.

Well, there you have it.  A complete opinion of academic publishing from a 
distinctly non-academic PoV.  Hopefully the research is useful.

Mike
----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: Re: [docbook-apps] db for math/chem dissertation/thesis
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 11:15:52 -0700
From: Bob Stayton <bobs at sco.com>
To: Mike Mueller <linux-support at earthlink.net>
Cc: DocBook-Apps <docbook-apps at lists.oasis-open.org>

On Thu, Aug 28, 2003 at 01:28:39PM -0400, Mike Mueller wrote:
> On Wednesday 27 August 2003 14:51, Mike Mueller wrote:
> > Is db used often or easily for technical dissertations and thesis, in
> > particular those in math and chemistry?  Can anyone post a link to an
> > example?  How does db stand up against LaTeX?
> >
> > TIA,
>
> Several folks in acedemia suggested to me that db is not being widely used
> for math or chem dissertations yet, and that WYSIWYGs and LaTeX were still
> tools of choice for those apps.  I found that hard to believe at first.  A
> little research showed why db may not be a preferred tool in math.  Then I
> found the MathML resources on the web.  W3C had a math conformance test for
> your browser.  I use Firebird and the tester reported that I needed some
> extras to make things look better.  I did OK in the default mode, but I can
> imagine that OK is not good enough for acedemia.  I can't imagine some
> grad/post grad sweating the details of getting all the different browsers
> out there to display her/his dissertation properly.  Then there's the
> additional problem of getting her/his advisors to fix up all the browers
> they may use to be MathML friendly.  I can imagine that chem applications
> would have similar difficulties but I admit I did not specifically research
> chem MLs.
>
> Comments?

I agree that math presentation in browsers still has a
ways to go.  But aren't most dissertations primarily
delivered in print form?  Or am I hopelessly out of
date?  Not that I'm claiming that DocBook has a complete
solution for math in print, mind you.

--

Bob Stayton                                 400 Encinal Street
Publications Architect                      Santa Cruz, CA  95060
Technical Publications                      voice: (831) 427-7796
The SCO Group                               fax:   (831) 429-1887
                                            email: bobs at sco.com

-------------------------------------------------------

-- 
Mike Mueller
324881 (08/20/2003)
Make clockwise circles on the floor with your right foot; now, without 
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number "6" in the air