Re: editors for sgml/xml

[steve@press.wlu.ca (Steve Izma)]

Regarding the use of editors for sgml/xml work:

I've been using vi and its derivatives on sgml-type editing for
about 15 years. For the last couple of years I've used vim and
employ a lot of macros for making editing and composing easier.

I tried emacs for a while but found it too big and not as
flexible as vi: e.g., as far as I can tell, I can't change the
number of objects that an editing command works on. The only
major difficulty with vim compared to emacs/psgml is that I have
to leave the editor to run a parser to validate the tags. But
this is no big deal with Ctl-Z and an nsgmls-based script I use.
All the other psgml facilities that looked useful to me can be
reproduced with macros in vim.

My opinion about sgml vs xml: sgml is more generic and
thus covers more territory. I don't see why the current hype
about xml should require us to name a package in order to attract
people who don't understand the relationship between the two
standards. And anything properly written in xml won't run into
trouble with current sgml tools. I intend to move more
exclusively to xml because it is more strict and thus easier to
write filter programs for it, but it is still part of sgml.

--

Steve Izma,                               (519) 884-0710 ext. 6125
    Wilfrid Laurier University Press      FAX: (519) 725-1399
    Waterloo, Ont., Canada N2L 3C5        steve@press.wlu.ca