Electronic Publishing
Perhaps no traditional industry has been revolutionized by technology as much
as publishing. With the help of tools like the ones listed below, anyone can
build or find appropriate content, produce it, and publish it in print or online.
New tools help authors collaborate with each other. Features that once were
the domain of technical professionals are now accessible to the average user.
Easy-to-use, drag-and-drop features have simplified the process of presenting
dynamic content generated in or collected from various media sources.
Arbortext 5
Arbortext produces XML-based software for publishing to a variety of media from
a single content source. Arbortext’s software suite is designed to streamline
the process of creating and publishing complex documents. Arbortext 5, available
in March 2004, will include seven components: Enterprise Editor, the authoring
tool, content creation. It allows content to be stored in content management
repositories and assembled on demand. Enterprise Editor builds content for publishing
in a variety of media, including Web, CD-ROM, print, and wireless. The Enterprise
E-Content Engine (E3) converts content from Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker,
and Interleaf documents to XML, and publishes that content to print, PDF, Web,
and wireless. Contributor, the browser-based XML editor, helps contributing
authors and subject matter experts create XML content. Companion, Arbortext's
new add-in for Microsoft Word 2003, will provide several key features to XML
applications in Word, including automatic styling of tags and access to E3 for
publishing. In addition, Arbortext 5 includes Architect, a rapid prototyping
tool, and a Dynamic Content Assembly Manager tool to help streamline.
Contact: Arbortext, Ann Arbor, MI; (734) 997-0200; www.arbortext.com.
Adobe Framemaker 7.0
FrameMaker 7.0 features new XML capabilities that allow users to create, edit,
import, and publish content in many formats, including print, PDF, HTML, SGML,
and XML. Version 7.0 essentially blends the WYSIWYG features of FrameMaker with
the publishing options of FrameMaker+SGML. Users will find comfort in the WYSIWYG
layout and the continuous validation feature. The software offers a choice of
two authoring modes: the familiar word processing, style-tagging mode, or a
fully structured authoring environment optimized to produce valid XML and SGML
files. FrameMaker 7.0 offers enhanced book authoring and layout features, the
ability to process thousands of pages of content, and built-in features that
automate and simplify mundane document preparation tasks. FrameMaker outputs
to tagged Adobe PDF files, which are accessible to users with visual disabilities
who read with the aid of a screen reader. FrameMaker offers long document support
that includes book management features, sophisticated templates, and rich formatting
options.
Contact: Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA; (408) 536-6000;
www.adobe.com.
Morphon XML Editor 3
Now free to anyone who wishes to download it, the Morphon XML Editor lets users
create and modify XML documents. Morphon also provides a Cascading Style Sheet
(CSS) editor. Because it is written in Java, the XML Editor runs on any platform.
Morphon's XML Editor features WYSIWYG editing, a validation engine, and hierarchical
views. Views are extensible through a plug in API with DOM3 support. New to
the latest version are a spell check, print previews feature, folding options,
support for tables, support for Mac OS menu bar, automatic save feature, and
many more enhancements. Users can view the edit in three modes: no tags, boxed
tags, and inline tags. Users can also work remotely via HTTP or FTP.
Contact: Morphor Technologies, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
+31 (0)10 750 2600; www.morphon.com.
Design Science’s MathML Tools
Design Science offers a range of tools for working with MathML. First is MathType,
the professional version of the Equation Editor in Microsoft Office, which enables
the user to easily create equations by pointing and clicking, and can convert
those equations into MathML, in either 1.0 or 2.0 versions. Users can apply
this capability in several ways. For instance, from within the MathType editing
window, one can capture all or part of an equation written in MathML and place
it into an open HTML or XML editing window. From within a Microsoft Word document,
using MathType’s MathPage technology, users can save the document as a
Web page with all of the symbols and equations represented as MathML within
the HTML page. Web pages produced this way can be displayed in Microsoft Internet
Explorer for Windows enhanced by Design Science’s free MathPlayer MathML
display software, Netscape 7.0, or Mozilla. Another Design Science tool, WebEQ
Developers Suite, is a comprehensive toolkit for building Web pages that include
interactive math. eLearning companies, content developers, and education portals
are using WebEQ to create Web-based learning environments that help educators
engage students in math and science on the Web. Because WebEQ is based on Java
and MathML technology, developed solutions will be platform- and browser-independent.
MathFlow is a suite of production tools for STM publishers (science/technical/medical)
working with MathML in XML workflow. MathFlow consists of three separate tools,
one for each phase of the production process: MathFlow Exchange, which converts
equations in Microsoft Word documents (both Equation Editor and MathType equations)
into XML+MathML documents; MathFlow Editor, a WYSIWYG, native MathML editor
that can be used to author and edit MathML in conjunction with various XML editors,
similar in feel to using MathType with Microsoft Word; and MathFlow Composer,
which outputs XML pages with MathML into HTML, XTHML, and PDF formats.
Contact: Design Science, Long Beach, CA; (562)433-0685;
www.dessci.com.
Macromedia eLearning Suite
The integrated set of eLearning tools from Macromedia includes Authorware 7,
Dreamweaver MX, and Flash MX. LMS knowledge objects simplify the task of complying
with learning management system standards. Authorware lets users import PowerPoint
files and add to them, building rich, interactive learning experience. Intuitive
tools such as drag-and-drop outlining and menu-based content creation designed
to make authoring easy. Flash MX software helps users integrate video, text,
audio, and graphics, create animation, add interactivity, and incorporate rich-media
assets into a presentation or publication. The Web site and application building
tool Dreamweaver MX facilitates the development of Web-based content.
Contact: Macromedia, San Francisco, CA; (415) 252-2000;
www.macromedia.com.
Click2Learn Toolbook Instructor
ToolBook Instructor, an interactive content development tool from Click2learn,
includes hundreds of preprogrammed catalog objects in a robust, object-oriented
development environment that support visual programming and scripting to create
interactive behaviors for custom or adapted content. Content produced with ToolBook
is interoperable with learning management systems through SCORM and AICC standards.
ToolBook Instructor content can be launched, bookmarked, and tracked using SCORM
or AICC. ToolBook Instructor supports a wide variety of media files, including
sound, animation, digital video, streaming media, and still images. It supports
Flash animation files, RealPlayer, Windows Media Player formats, GIF, and JPEG
files. Toolbook provides assessment capabilities through a number of assessment
types: true/false, multiple choice, drag-and-drop, and others. Content developed
in ToolBook can be deployed on the Internet, an intranet, a local area network
(LAN), or CD-ROM. Users can integrate ToolBook Instructor content with the Click2Learn’s
Aspen Learning Management System or any other standards-based learning management
system for a complete solution.
Contact: Click2learn, Bellevue, WA; (425) 462-0501; www.click2learn.com.
Table: Digital Libraries
| ATLA |
Large collection of
theological images. |
www.atla.com/digitalresources/ |
| Bartleby.com |
Free access to general literature, reference, and verse. |
www.bartleby.com |
| California Digital Library |
Scholarly material, images, eBooks, Web sites, and
statistics, etc. |
www.californiadigitallibrary.org/ |
Cuneiform Digital
Library Initiative |
Digital repository of images, transliterations, and glossaries. |
www.early-cuneiform.humnet.ucla.edu/ |
| Early English Books Online |
Over 100,000 works produced in English, including 500,000 pages of content
added in late 2003. |
www.lib.umi.com/eebo |
| Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia |
70,000 online and offline texts in 13 languages. |
www.etext.lib.virginia.edu/ |
| Everglades Digital Library |
Science, natural history, photos, educational and interpretive materials,
datasets, and maps. |
http://www.everglades.fiu.edu/library/ |
| Highwire |
618,000 free articles from 344 science journals. |
www.highwire.stanford.edu/ |
| Humanities Text Initiative |
Diverse collection of religious and secular texts, Lincoln's speeches,
and medieval p'etry. |
www.hti.umich.edu/ |
| Internet Classics Library |
Over 400 works by more than 50 classic authors on this site sponsored
by MIT. |
www.classics.mit.edu/index.html |
| Internet Public Library |
Collections in most academic areas, reference works, reading room, and
special sections for kids and teens. |
www.ipl.org/ |
| JSTOR |
Preeminent source for archived scholarly journal articles. |
www.jstor.org/ |
NASA Astrophysics
Data System |
NASA-funded project maintaining four bibliographic databases with more
than 3.5 million records. |
www.adswww.harvard.edu/ |
| National Academy Press |
More than 2500 titles from National Academy Press and Joseph Henry Press—a
free read online. |
www.books.nap.edu/index.html |
| New York Public Library Digital Library Program |
"The accumulated wisdom of the world" in free, electronic format. |
www.digital.nypl.org/ |
| Online Book Page |
Links to thousands of online books, wherever they may be housed. |
www.onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ |
| Perseus Project |
Humanities texts from the ancient and modern world. |
www.perseus.tufts.edu/ |
| Project Gutenberg |
10,000 public domain "light" and "heavy" literature
and works of reference, available in ASCII files. |
www.gutenberg.net |
| Virtual Library |
Collection of materials on a wide range of subject areas. |
www.vlib.org/ |
| Virtual Reference Desk |
Digital reference "Aska" services, primarily for K-12 students. |
www.vrd.org/ |
| Visible Human Project |
Complete, anatomically detailed, 3D representations of the human body,
both male and female. |
www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html |
