A new approach for splitting HTML outputs generated from DocBook XML source into individual files
If large XML documents are maintained, it is handy to split them into smaller parts (using XIncludes). Such content is not only easier to navigate but it also brings other benefits, especially if the source files are versioned using systems like SVN or Git. Unfortunately, there were no means to preserve this natural splitting when generating set of HTML pages. Good news. It is not a problem any more when keeping several simple rules and employing one handy tool.Read the rest of article
DocBook to ConTeXt XSL stylesheets
Let us introduce a set of stylesheets for conversion a DocBook XML source into the format of ConTeXt typesetting system, which can be further processed into a PDF output. The main driver here is to offer a solution for publishing books with the best available typographic quality from the DocBook XML source.Read the rest of article
Outstanding typographic quality with open source typesetting tools
The best visual typesetting tool with most advanced typographic features is Adobe InDesign. Period. However, if a non-visual typesetting is sufficient, similar results can be achieved even with open source tools. The best of them is the ConTeXt typesetting system in conjunction with the LuaTeX engine. Period. This statement is a result of a recent comparison covering advanced font and microtypography features. These and few others are summarized in this article.Read the rest of article
Typographic quality of dynamically generated PDF outputs
When browsing various documents it is noticeable some of them are pleasing to the eye more than others. Atractivity is related mainly to the symmetry of page elements, text homogeneity or color combinations. These conventions are covered by discipline called typography. The majority of rules can be fulfilled by thoughtful choices of page layout, fonts and advance settings of paragraph styles. But advanced features require a direct support in the typesetting engine. Let us compare them!Read the rest of article