McKelvie, David   Table of contents   Indexes   McNeill, James W.
Cyprus
Limassol
Nahas, Louis
Pendulum Software Ltd.
 		Nahas, Louis
 Pendulum Software Ltd.
  Pendulum Software Ltd., Limassol (Cyprus)
WEB:lnahas@spidernet.com.cy
 Previously a senior software engineer at Corporate Publishing Services, Novell Inc. until June 1996. Currently owner and managing director of Pendulum Software Ltd., Cyprus, providing contractual services to Novell.
 Background
 
 
  • Mathematics, C/C++ programming, DTP systems and the creation of text conversion software.
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  • Developed a programming language and parser "Data Wizard" currently used in Novell's FrameBuilder MIF to SGML solution.
    •  SGML Experience
     
     
  • Houghton Mifflin's proprietary DTDs used in coding the American Heritage Dictionary.
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  • DocBook and the derivation of subsets thereof.
    •  Specialization
     
     
  • The development of text parsers and processing tools.
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  • The development of authoring templates, conversion programs and related utilities for the creation of printed and on-line documentation.
    •  Examples
     
     
  • The architecture of Novell's current FrameBuilder authoring templates based on a subset of the DocBook DTD. Elements in the authoring environment do not bear the same names as DocBook elements nor do they necessarily adhere to DocBook's structure, but they are designed to map unambiguously to a subset of DocBook.
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  • The development of Novell's FrameBuilder MIF to SGML filters and book-binding tools. A number of auxiliary MIF and SGML utilities also accompany this tool set.
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  • The development of a DocBook SGML to HTML conversion for Novell's glossary data base.
    •  Suggested Topics
     
     
  • Differences between Novell's authoring structure and DocBook.
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  • Element names that reflect more clearly the nature of elements.
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  • Rules to observe when creating a subset that maps correctly.
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  • How often does document exchange actually occur for editing purposes ?
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  • When semantics are added to SGML for the declaration of formatting rules it would be possible to design a true native-SGML integrated authoring tool that would not require the use of external filtering software. This would also suggest that public domain or industry-standard DTDs would become obsolete and documents supplied with a DTD bearing formatting specifications would be self-sufficient and usable across DTP systems.
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  • Simplifying the conversion process. Is SGML validation necessary for all conversion processes ? What is the impact on software performance when validation is eliminated ?
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  • Other possible uses of SGML, for example in business applications.
    • McKelvie, David   Table of contents   Indexes   McNeill, James W.