If you need a reliable tool for technical documentation, this clear and concise reference will help you take advantage of DocBook, the popular XML schema originally developed to document computer and hardware projects. DocBook 5.0 has been expanded and simplified to address documentation needs in other fields, and it's quickly becoming the tool of choice for many content providers.
DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide is the complete, official documentation of DocBook 5.0. You'll find everything you need to know to use DocBook 5.0's features-including its improved content model-whether you're new to DocBook or an experienced user of previous versions.
Learn how to write DocBook XML documents
Understand DocBook 5.0's elements and attributes, and how they fit together
Determine whether your documents conform to the DocBook schema
Learn about options for publishing DocBook to various output formats
Customize the DocBook schema to meet your needs
Get additional information about DocBook editing and processing
Introduction
Chapter 1 Getting Started with DocBook
A Short DocBook History
DocBook V5.0
Finally in a Namespace
Relaxing with DocBook
Why Switch to DocBook V5.0?
Schema Jungle
Backward Compatibility
Chapter 2 Creating DocBook Documents
Making an XML Document
Physical Divisions: Breaking a Document into Separate Files
Logical Divisions: The Categories of Elements in DocBook
Roots: Starting Your DocBook Document
Making a DocBook Book
Making a Chapter
Making an Article
Making a Reference Page
Making Front and Back Matter
Chapter 3 Validating DocBook Documents
ID/IDREF Constraints and Validation
Validating Your Documents
Understanding Validation Errors
Chapter 4 Publishing DocBook Documents
A Survey of Stylesheet Languages
Using XSL to Publish DocBook Documents
Chapter 5 Customizing DocBook
Should You Do This?
If You Change DocBook, It’s Not DocBook Anymore!
Norman Walsh is a Principal Technologist at Mark Logic Corporation where he assists in the design and deployment of advanced content applications. Norm is also an active participant in a number of standards efforts worldwide: he is chair of the DocBook Technical Committee at OASIS. At the W3C, he is chair of the XML Processing Model Working Group and also co-chair of the XML Core Working Group.
The animal on the cover of DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide is a wood duck (Aix sponsa), also known as a Carolina duck. Often considered one of the most beautiful ducks in North America, the male wood duck has a metallic purple and green head with white streaks extending from its bill around the eyes and down to its blue and green, gold-flecked wings. It has a white neck, a chestnut-colored chest, a white or red bill, and yellow-orange legs and feet. Females have more brown, gray, and subdued hues.
The cover image is from the Dover Pictorial Archive. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSansMonoCondensed
