COMPOSER SAMPLES

• Sample 1 – Composed Pages, Controlling Style File and SGML Tagged Input Data
• Sample 2 – State Senate Daily Journal Composed Pages
• Sample 3 – State House Daily Journal Composed Pages
• Sample 4 – Single-Column Text with Single-Column Footnotes
• Sample 5 – Single-Column Text with Two-Column Footnotes
• Sample 6 –  Single- and Two-Column Text with Single Column Footnotes
• Sample 7 – Two-Column Text with Balanced, Two-Column Footnotes
• Sample 8 – Two-Column Text with Unbalanced, In-Column Footnotes

SGML

The Standard Generalized Markup Language, SGML, is a notation that provides the means to formalize document structure in a Document Type Definition. The DTD specifies that a document is an element that is comprised of other elements. It:

• Specifies the elements that may occur in a document and the order in which they may occur.
• Allows document markup to be validated, using an SGML parser, according to the governing document type definition.

SGML and the DTD define document structure; the advantages that SGML provides are:

• Document style is forced to be consistent from end to end; a real boon to editors of multi-author documents.
• Documents that conform to an SGML DTD are said to be SGML compliant.

COMPOSING AN SGML TAGGED DOCUMENT

The Pagetec SGML Composer uses a Style File to relate typographic characteristics to a class of documents that conform to a given Document Type Definition. A style file may also be written for an “SGML-like” tagging system without a formal Document Type Definition.

A style file specifies the typographic characteristics to govern when a particular tag name appears in data. It is structured to conform to the governing DTD. A simple <P> tag may have a number of sets of typographic characteristics depending upon the rank in the DTD and the related Style File. The same is possible using the implied structure of a tagging scheme that has no formal DTD.

PAGETEC SGML COMPOSER FEATURES

The SGML Composer is easy to use; it can render a document in a number of typographic formats from the same data file using different style files. Composition attributes are specified in a Style File for each of the tags that appear in a Document Type Definition or that can be inferred from a study of an SGML-like tagging scheme.

• Font, size, body lead and setwidth
• Extra lead above and below the element
• Column measure
• Left and right indentions
• Composition mode
• Widow rules for the element

The Composer's widow rules handle a wide range of circumstances that may obtain during column or page breaking activity. In general widow control imposes a “keep two – push two” rule. Additional widow rules that may be imposed for tag processing include:

• At least one line of text must follow this element if it appears at the bottom of a column.
• This element may not be split across pages.
• This element may not start at the top of a column; at least two lines of text must precede it.

Additional control of events that accompany tag processing, again specified in the Style File, are:

• Pickup of text from data that may be recalled for use in running heads, running feet or ears.
• Micro commands may be prefixed or suffixed to a text element before it is composed.
• Pi characters may be inserted before a text element is composed.
• Micro commands may replace characters that appear in the text element before it is composed.

OUTPUT DEVICES

Though the Composer may be used with any of the Pagetec drivers, most of the advances in recent years accrue from PostScript and the related Portable Document Format, PDF, which provides paperless distribution of documents and access to the World Wide Web. Using the Pagetec PostScript, PDF or Dual driver the Composer may:

• Incorporate bookmarks in a document. Bookmarks provide easy and rapid navigation of a document when it is open under the Adobe™ Acrobat Reader. Reader is available at no charge at the Adobe site on the World Wide Web.
• Bookmarks may be placed logically; for example, on chapter heads, on side heads or on other tagged elements. Bookmarks may be nested to a depth of ten.
• Provide links within documents, to other documents and to the World Wide Web. Links to other documents may be to a specified page in the target document. Links to the Web may be to a specified position in the target web site.
• The target document may be any document whose Universal Resource Locator, URL, is known.
• Illustrations may be merged at composition time if the art files are available; otherwise space for illustrations may be reserved in composed pages.
• Provide color assignment to text elements or running page elements. Color may be specified logically in the Style File or specifically by micro commands in data.

It has been our experience at Pagetec that even with a well-defined Document Type Definition there are always exceptions related to a given user. Particularly in the area of figures and tables, most everyone needs something special. We at Pagetec will work with you to provide any such special requirements that your applications may require.

Platforms

The Pagetec SGML Composer is available for the following platforms:

• Intel PC with Microsoft Windows family.
• Sun Sparc with Sun Solaris.
• IBM Mainframe with OS/390 family.