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Re: [docbook] DocBook Technical Committee Meeting Minutes: 18 Mar2003


Norman Walsh wrote:

> The question is, should we be flexible and allow HTML tables in
> DocBook so that users migrating to DocBook don't have to do any mental
> gymnastics to get their tables working?

I'm asking again. Is this mental gymnastics really so hard? I trained
many people with former HTML knowledge to DocBook, and they hadn't
problems with tables. Is it really so hard to absorb few easy rules?

1. Use row instead of tr
2. Use entry instead of th/td
3. Surround tbody with tgroup and add number of columns here
4. Do colspans in different (and btw more robust) way then in HTML

They are quite easy if you compare them to large number of other HTML ->
DocBook transition rules:

- use para instead of p
- use nested sections and title instead of h1/h2/h3/..
- use itemizedlist instead of ul

just to name few of them.

Transition from HTML to DocBook is not easy, but there are many other
places in this process which need more mental gymnastics then table
model IMHO.

I personally think that allowing HTML tables together with CALS tables
will confuse users. Ordinary users are always confused when they are
supposed to make decision. Should we make this even harder for them? XML
vs SGML, DSSSL vs XSL, lists inside para vs list between para, HTML vs
CALS, ... I don't want to take part in this forking ride.

To sum it up just for the record (as it seems to me that everything
indicate that HTML tables will be incorporated into DocBook): I'm
against adding HTML table model to DocBook.

					Jirka

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
  Jirka Kosek  	                     
  e-mail: jirka at kosek dot cz
  http://www.kosek.cz


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