Re: WWWWW Notes

Steve Heaney ([email protected])
Fri, 13 Aug 1993 20:32:03 +0200


[email protected] writes:
>
> What might be really nice would be if the style sheets themselves could be
> formalized in some fashion, so that a document could consist of a semantic
> component (HTML, HTML+) and a presentation component (HTPL?) which would
> indicate how each (named? semantic?) region should be presented.
>
> A WYSIWYGBNWOMG (8-) editor could generate the two components. If different
> HTPL's could be defined for different presentation domains (textual,
> textual/graphical,audio/verbal, virtual reality), documents could become very
> very very flexible, without losing the ability for authors to have control
> over the presentation of their baby. nteresting new things could be done if
> these HTPL's could be referenced in a standard way by a document LINK, or by
> an attached annotation.
>

Excellent idea (really).

The US DoD as part of the CAL initiative defined a format for the coding
of presentation information. A document coded to this format is called a FOSI
(Formatting Output Specification Instance). You could have as many FOSI's
as you want for one SGML DTD. Exactly what you describe. I wouldn't suggest
adopting the FOSI standard (too heavy), but it contains some useful ideas.

> Any discussion as to how HTML+ would have to be modified to allow this kind of
> thing? It seems that as long as you have named containers that you could do
> quite useful (and specific) things with this without losing generality.
>

Exactly what the separation of content and presentation is all about. Don't
me mislead when you hear SGML freaks go on about the evil of presentation
information in a document. Of course you need control of presentation, but
put it in a style sheet.

> >
> > When we talk about presentation in HTML+ we are mostly talking about tables
> > and external graphical image layout (e.g., gif's). Someone should make
> > a list of the presentation like elements in HTML+.
> >
> > --sanders
> >
>
> One test of the viability of a HTML+/HTPL solution would be if it would
> allow you to be flexible in controlling where an image would go in a page
> relative to text. NCSA Mosaic is rather frustrating in this regard
> currently.. it would be nice to be able to center an image on a line,
> for instance, or to have text wrap around an image..
>
> Jon
>
>

Steve Heaney.

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