Technology Tutorial: SGML Basics for Publishers
:: Frequently Asked Questions about SGML1) What is SGML? What does it allow you to do?
SGML stands for "Standard Generalized Markup Language." In essence, it's another choice of input format just like PDFs or HTML, but it's also a method for creating "smart," interchangeable structured documents, which allow you to:
• Bring value to the online version of your publications in ways that print can never achieve, allowing you to assemble a single document from many different sources, including SGML fragments, word processor files, database queries, graphics, video clips and real-time data.
• Produce multiple output streams, including printable HTML.
• Take advantage of reference linking to its fullest.
• Go straight to the Web – no need to typeset first.
• Give durability and archivability to your publications, enabling you to future-proof your online content for different rendering and output formats.
2) How is SGML different from HTML and XML?
a) HTML is actually an SGML application (a Document Type Definition – DTD and a set of processing conventions), but it's important to note that most HTML browsers don't support some basic SGML constructions. And, nearly ALL SGML authoring tools are capable of producing good HTML documents.
SGML also allows, of course, for all of the additional benefits of creating smart valuable data outlined above – durable data that can translate for the future.
b) XML is in essence, SGML. Unlike HTML, however, XML is not an SGML application – instead, it's a set of simple conventions for using SGML without some of its more esoteric features.
3) Which publishers should be taking advantage of SGML?
Those publishers who:
• Want to restyle, revise or repurpose their current data.
• Want to preserve their content in a vendor-neutral format that will be most universal for their online strategy now, and for the future.
• Have multiple journals, rich content to demonstrate, and significant backfile in need of future-proofing.
Essentially, all publishers who want to make the most of their online content.
4) Can Ingenta work with publishers who already use SGML?
Yes, in addition to years of experience creating SGML-driven stand-alone sites for our customers, Ingenta can now accept SGML format into its aggregation service, providing publishers with the opportunity to make their content visible to nearly 15,000 registered institutions and 3 million+ individual researchers worldwide.
Questions? Email your SGML-related inquiries to sales@ingenta.com.