Steve Waldron discussed tools and considerations for building an XML workflow. He explained that XML is a core technology for many software companies and publishers due to its flexibility and ability to transform content for different media. Waldron outlined various XML tools and highlighted that the right tools depend on an organization's goals and publishing strategy. He provided examples of how publishers like Elsevier and DailyLit use XML in different ways to manage content and deliver it across multiple platforms. Overall, Waldron argued that XML is fundamental for organizations that develop complex products, produce content at scale, or want to deliver content through various print and digital channels.
Building an XML workflow: Tools and key considerations
1. Building an XML workflow:
Tools and key considerations
Steve Waldron
Director of Business Development, Klopotek North America
January 13, 2009, McGraw-Hill Auditorium, New York
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2. Who am I?
A technologist who has spent the last 20 years supporting
publishers with technology solutions.
Who is Klopotek?
A software company that has spent over 15 years successfully
building core solutions for publishers.
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3. XML - What‘s all this fuss about?
Where are you on the subject,
somewhere between “so what“ and “panic“?
Join the club...
So many tools, so much to know, so little time.
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4. Some Tools and Groups
EDITORS TOOLS TECHNOLOGIES
XMLSpy XML Validators XML
StylusStudio DTD Validators XSLT
Dreamweaver Converters - XML to DTD XPath
EditiX Converters - DTD to XML XSL-FO
oXygen ESB DTD
XMLWriter eBook Readers XML Schemas
Liquid Etc… XML Namespaces
Adobe InDesign XQuery
Etc… EPub
PDF
ODF
RSS
SOAP
Etc…
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5. How to Select Tools
What tools and technologies should you use?
Depends on your strategy and goals.
It’s like Bob Villa, he has lots of tools,
specific to the job!
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6. XML in Software Products
Microsoft have bet the company on it as a core technology, all MS Products
have been written with XML as a foundation.
Companies, such as Mark Logic, also base their whole technology on XML.
But today, it‘s mainly technology for the technically oriented. Tools that
make XML easy for end users are limited today.
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7. Klopotek Have XML as a Core Technology
in Our Software – WHY?
We believe in it.
We are market leaders in software for publishers.
Our customers demand it.
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8. What do our customers do with it?
For Elsevier,
it‘s a core strategy which underpins everything, and
it‘s an enabler that makes them more agile and cost
effective, and
it‘s a core strategy for business success for the future.
It was the only credible way that they could maintain
60,000 products in production over many continents,
with multiple delivery platforms for the future.
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9. For Some of Our Other Customers, It Varies.
From pure title management and ONIX messaging, at Moody,
for example, to complex transmission of production information
and digital asset distribution for The World Bank, but it all runs
on XML.
‘What should you do?‘ depends on
who you are,
what you publish, and
what you are trying to achieve.
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10. What about new media publishing models?
Example DailyLit
DailyLit embraces web 2.0 and provides “chapters“ to readers on a download
basis, also using cell phones, PDA‘s, web and email server options.
90% of their readership receive content via email.
Definitely a new model?
Well, actually similar to what Charles Dickens did over two hundred years ago;
he used paper and charged a penny per chapter!
However, XML is an key enabler for this venture. Here, XML is probably of
less relevance compared to Elsevier, but they use RSS streaming technology
to deliver products and they also get very cost effective benefits when
contributors supply content in EPUB or XHTML format, particularly since they
are writing content days before delivery.
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12. Bottom line.
If you
develop complex products
produce complex products in volume
want to deliver content in a variety of ways including print and digital.
then XML is fundamental! That said, even if you have a simple publishing
model, that is purely print based, XML is core to communication today.
It provides the ability
to compose and transform content
with great flexibility and accuracy and
allows you to distribute that content to a variety of media automatically.
This is dynamic, new tools and technologies are evolving.
It’s all a case of what you really want or need to do.
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