SGML Product Review for the Software Technology for Adaptable, Reliable Systems (STARS) Program

Abstract : This document details the software products currently available for creating and processing documents using the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) as specified in ISO 8879:1986 and in MIL-STD-28001A (CALS). SGML products range from complete systems (which do everything from allowing a user to create a document to printing a formatted document) to smaller products which are used for only one or two specific functions in the SGML document processing model. SGML document processing involves the following functions: (1) creating a Document Type Declaration (DTD); (2) parsing a DTD; (3) creating a Document Instance (document marked-up in SGML based on DTD); (4) parsing a Document Instance; and (5) translating the SGML in a Document Instance into a formatting language for output. The advantage of using a product which performs only a few of these functions lies in the price and in the ability to customize the products to the user's needs. This section will describe SGML product types and the function each performs in producing a SGML document. (kr)