Re: [Refdb-users] docbook5, getting started

[<mar...@mh...>]

Tim Arnold writes:
 > Hi Markus,
 > Here are some notes:
 > Using refdbxp 0.9.9-1 built from svn revision 531 ma...@mh...
 > 
 > (1) invalid xml generated
 > This citation:
 >     <citation role="REFDB">bart_m66</citation>
 > 
 > After the command
 > refdbxp -t db50x < test1.xml > test1_full.xml
 > becomes (note the non-terminated xref)
 >     <citation role="REFDB"><xref linkend="IDbart_m66-X"></citation>
 > 

This is an odd inconsistency. As refdbxp need not be aware of the
DocBook or TEI version you're using, you can only choose between
DocBook SGML, DocBook XML, and TEI XML. The first one is the default
if no type or an incorrect type is specified. Try "-t db31x" instead
and you should get valid XML. See the man page for further
details. The default stems from the days of yore when XML was all
fresh and new and no one used it because the tools weren't as good as
they are now. XML should probably be the default these days, but I'm
always careful not to break old behaviour.

 > 
 > (2) documentation typo
 > Page 102 (section 10.3.1.2.3, step 1) the xinclude path is incorrect:
 > /usr/local/share/xsl should be
 > /usr/local/share/refdb/xsl
 > 

Thanks for catching this. I've fixed this in svn.

 > (3) 'chapter' as root element not supported.

Which error do you get? Actually, chapter is indeed a valid root
element as of DocBook V5, see

http://docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/ch02.html#roots

If that doesn't work with RefDB, I'd call it a bug.

 > Okay,this works! If you have book or article as the root element, and
 > citations following this pattern:
 > <citation role="REFDB"><xref linkend="IDkuma_v92-X" /></citation>
 > 
 > My root element was 'chapter'. That is legal DocBook though, as far as I know.
 > 
 > Only one problem I have now:
 > how to work with chapter as the root element.
 > 
 > I create books, but each chapter has its own bibliography. Do you
 > think that is possible?
 > 

I haven't tried that. It should work though as long as the
bibliographies don't "overlap", i.e. if a single reference is not
listed in two or more bibliographies. In that case you'd have
duplicate xml:id attributes which are not allowed in XML. Also,
processing wouldn't work with the stock RefDB scripts, so you'd have
to write some of your own.

regards,
Markus

-- 
Markus Hoenicka
http://www.mhoenicka.de
AQ score 38