PLOS is an interesting case. The HTML for PLOS articles is relatively
readable. However, the HTML that the PLOS setup produces is failing at math,
even for articles from August 2014.
As well, sometimes when I zoom in or out (so that I can see the math better)
Firefox stops displaying the paper, and I have to reload the whole page.
Strangely, PLOS accepts low-resolution figures, which in one paper I looked at
are quite difficult to read.
However, maybe the PLOS method can be improved to the point where the HTML is
competitive with PDF.
peter
This makes me think of PLoS. For example, PLoS has a published format
guidelines using Work and Latex (http://www.plosone.org/static/guidelines), a
workflow for semantically structuring their resulting output and their final
output is well structured and available in XML based on a known standard
(http://dtd.nlm.nih.gov/publishing/3.0/journalpublishing3.dtd), PDF and the
published HTML on their website
(http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011233).
This results In semantically meaningful XML that is transformed to HTML
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011233&representation=XML
<http://www.plosone..org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011233&representation=XML>
Interestingly as well, they have provided this framework in an open source form:
http://www.ambraproject.org/
Clearly the publication process can support a semantic solution and when its
in the best interest of the publisher. They will adopt and drive their own
markup processes to meet external demand.
Providing tools that both the publisher and the author may use independently
could simplify such an effort, but is not a main driver in achieving that
final result you see in PLoS. This is especially the case given even the
debate concerning file formats here. For PLoS, the solution that is currently
successful is the one that worked to solve todays immediate local need with
todays tools.
Cheers,
Mark
p.s. Finally, on the reference of moving repositories such as EPrints and
DSpace towards supporting semantic markup of their contents. Being somewhat of
a participant in LoD on the DSpace side, I note that these efforts are
inherently just "Repository Centric", describing the the structure of the
repository (IE Collections of Items), not the semantic structure contained
within the Item contents (articles, citations, formulas, data tables, figures,
ideas). In both platforms, these capabilities are in their infancy, lacking
any rendering other than to offer the original file for download, they
ultimately suffer from the absence of semantic structure in the content going
into them.
--
Mark R. Diggory
