As you will have noticed, we have given the newsletter a name. interCHANGE is now the title of the International SGML User's Group Newsletter and is intended to allow easier reference to the newsletter. The name itself reflects our coverage of all technologies related to management of structured data and the philosophies of SGML.
Along with this issue of interCHANGE you will have received a questionnaire. This has been generated to help us understand better the community that we are serving by doing some simple market research. We will analyse all returned forms and provide information back to you about what your contemporaries are doing and what tools they are using. This is a major exercise in determining what we should be doing as a group and will benefit from participation from all users of SGML. Please take some time to complete and return your questionnaire - and pass it on to any acquaintances that may be interested.
At SGML/XML 97 in Washington we reflected on the phenomenal success of HTML as an application of SGML. This has resulted in the emergence of a major new community of developers who are concerned with the standards that support the web. This group is formally led by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The Consortium is responsible for the SGML application profile that is XML; and the HyTime and DSSSL equivalents, XLL and XSL, respectively. Our relationship with the W3C informs the continued development of all these standards - as you can see from this issue the W3C has become a major force in the adoption of standards and that is good for everyone.
The theme of our first issue of 1998 is formatting. Often overlooked, formatting allows us to demonstrate what we preach about SGML: that data should be stored in an abstract representation which can be rendered as required on demand. Without this ability the promise cannot be transformed into reality. In the standards arena the reality is embodied in the formatting method called DSSSL.
Eamonn Neylon
Contact Robin Cover with corrections and updates, or to submit contributions to the ISUG online document database.
