On Tue, May 10, 2005 at 12:08:21PM +1000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> OpenOffice.org is based on XML, in that, say, a Write file with the *.sxw
> extension is actually a Zip archive containing various XML files that
> together describe the structure and formatting of a document.

Exactly.

> But the schema is not really semantically tagged and is almost a
> "well-formed" schema that is able to emulate the unstructured nature of a
> typical Word document, while using tags and attributes to allow the ready
> creation of tables of Contents, Indexes, printed output, etc.

That's how a word processor works:
You create paragraphs. You format those paragraphs and flag some of
these as headings. When properly flagged, this already alloes the
cration of an Index, a TOC, a printed output, etc.

The text in the xml-itself it totally decoupled from the actual
formatting. Even when you do hard-formatting in Writer this will be
converted to an automatically generated stlye that will be stored
elsewhere in the xml-file. The text will only be flagged as "format with
this style"
 
> Is there any way of configuring OOo so that it will follow a strictly
> structured schema such as DocBook or DITA, and that imposes a tree
> structure on the writer and prohibits arbitrary placement of elements?

I don't think the way you'd like. You cannot prohibit use of other
elements, but you can save to DocBook and other formats using a
xslt-conversion process. OOo already comes with DocBook filters.

> Or
> is the current schema so tightly bound to the GUI and the requirements for
> conversion to and from Word formats that this would be a Herculean task?

No, I wouldn't say that. It just requires a certain degree of
self-discipline from the editors of the document.

More info:
http://xml.openoffice.org/xmerge/docbook/index.html

ciao
Christian
-- 
NP: Meshuggah - Inside What's Whithin Behind

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