2. Practical Experiences With the Adoption of XML in Commercial Publishing Richard Kidd kiddr@rsc.org kiddr@rsc.org Neil Hunter huntern@rsc.org huntern@rsc.org © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2000 http://www.rsc.org http://www.rsc.org

3. Royal Society of Chemistry l Learned society & publisher l Journals publishing: 20+ journals 35,000 pages per year Print, PDF, HTML

4. Conventional Publishing l Paper-based editing l PDF available later l PDF used in conjunction with SGML header data to publish on the web But: l Lack of flexibility in electronic delivery l Data for electronic products of variable quality l No archive

5. Conventional Publishing Studio artwork On-paper Editing Paper Word files Typesetters proofs On-paper Proof Correction Authors proofs Print HTML WWW author proofs corrections Production Office PDF & SGML

6. New Web Requirements l To publish on web before print version l Other factors: Overall reduction in publication times Reduce costs Introduce on-screen editing Need one source for all outputs: HTML Print/PDF Headers, contents lists

7. ‘Ideal’ Process l Author data captured as SGML l RSC edit SGML l ‘Autoproof’ created l RSC correct SGML l RSC publish HTML and PDF l SGML returned to typesetter for final page make-up

8. Studio artwork SGML editing Proof creation SGML store Typesetters AuthorsPrint Production Office proofs HTML WWW Paper Word files Data Conversion SGML corrections ‘Ideal’ process

9. Where to Start? l Big bang? l Capture? l Editing?

10. Our SGML experience l SGML DTD development, software evaluations and trials were unproductive l Expensive and complex tools with high support, training and consultation costs l Full SGML implementation costly and demanding for our various typesetters l Unless the data was “live” it was unreliable

11. Start at the End l After final correction Develop DTD against real data Practical experience of SGML/XML Didn’t affect other production processes Investigate repository, editing etc. later

12. XML Arrives l XML - the part of SGML that we need l Developed a DTD that could be used in either XML or SGML environment l Set time-scales for DTD revisions l Pragmatic approach to tables, maths and bibliographic references l Set the repository issues aside and use file system

13. Microsoft MSXML l IE5 and MSXML allowed us to test our DTD, XML data and prove concepts l Now used to generate static HTML pages l Includes XSLT, DOM and parser l ASP and JScript used to preprocess documents via the DOM l Offered an inexpensive, well documented and reliable tool set

14. Graphics and Glyphs l Maths, chemistry and other non-ASCII characters mapped to glyphs in HTML l Combining character entities l XSLT used to output context sensitive character mappings l Unicode ready l Common Publisher problems?

15. Bringing XML Forward One supplier already had SGML workflow so we could start a pilot: l Data captured as SGML (now XML) l RSC edits SGML (now XML) l Typesetter creates auto-proof l RSC corrects SGML (now XML) l RSC creates HTML l Final SGML (now XML) returned to typesetter for page make-up

16. On-screen Editing l Currently in Arbortext Adept/Epic l Softquad XMetal a possibility for future

17. Next Steps l Roll-out to remaining suppliers, see how they can implement an XML workflow l Continue to train our editors and improve the process l Aim to have a full XML workflow by mid- 2001

18. Next Developments Gaining control of our data should allow: l Creation of proofs: HTML or PDF using XSL:FO l All outputs from one source using XSLT l Integration with our manuscript tracking system to enable exchange of control data and updating of XML l Cross publisher article linking

19. Future Developments l SVG, MathML, CML l Templates to simplify capture l XSL FO - one file for all outputs l Improved Unicode support l Improved search functionality l XML direct to browser or HTML on the fly - customised views

20. When the Roulette Wheel Stops... l Continuous in-house development? l Relationship with suppliers? But we’ll be in a good position to act quickly whatever we have to do

21. Now: l Reap the benefits of open standards l An archive, which can service our publishing needs as they develop l Continuous publication l Reduced costs l Concentrate on adding value

22. Our Conclusions: l Data’s not trustworthy unless you do something with it l You will know your data inside-out l Using XML gives us the control over the information that is our business l What helped: Suppliers co-operation and staff commitment Expertise in DTD development Industry support for XML standards