From: thomas@gmd.de (Tom Gordon, I3.KI 2665)
Newsgroups: comp.text.sgml
Subject: Re: FrameBuilder
Date: 11 Jan 93 18:19:13 GMT
Reply-To: thomas@gmd.de
Organization: GMD, Sankt Augustin, Germany.

I now have in front of me an original exemplar of a Frame Technology "white paper" 
entitled "CALS and SGML; A guide to understanding these emerging technologies", 
published in 1991.   

Section 6.5 is entitled "SGML: Frame's Direction".  I quote:

"Users need five key functions in an SGML-capable publishing system:

- Support for compound documents, i.e. graphics, images, and tables as well
as text.

- A WYSIWYG editing enivornment, to optimize user efficiency

- Software that can "understand" document structure, to ensure that document 
interchange with other systems retains the full integrity of the SGML files,
preserving structure as well as content.

- Support for multiple document type definitions (DTDs), to allow creation and
editing of more than just one type of document.

- Availability on a wide variety of workstation platforms

At Frame Technology, we believe the an SGML product must meed <em/all/ of these
needs, and Frame is continuing its development to reach this goal.   Frame is
developing a version of FrameMaker, adding the ability to recongize and define
structure.  This new capability will allow users to create and revise documents,
including the ablity to <em/reliably/ import and export these documents in 
SGML form.

And Frame's SGML product will allow the use of a wide variety of Document 
Type Definitions, providing support for both CALS and non-CALS applications.  
... With the ability to represent structure internally, Frame's SGML products
will allow the use of wide variety of document types, not limited to those 
defined as part of CALS.

This new version of FrameMaker, including support for structured documents
and SGML, is planned for release in late 1992.  ..."

End of quote.  OK, when one first reads this one might get the impression
that this new version of FrameMaker, which now appears to be the FrameBuilder
product, would be a full-fledged SGML editor, like Author/Editor or SGML
Editor.    But a more careful reading is compatible with the
critical comments we've been reading in this newsgroup.   SGML will be imported
and exported, but this doesn't imply that SGML is FrameBuilder's native language,
so to speak.   And no where is it claimed that any valid SGML DTD will be
supported, but only that a "wide variety" of DTDs will be supported,
including CALS.   However, the stress on the "reliablity" of import and 
export does seem to imply that FrameBuilder will verify that documents satisfy
the supported DTDs. 

How bad is this?  I guess it depends on whether the DTD you need or want to
use falls within this "wide variety" or not.   After all, some SGML parsers 
do not support all of SGML's optional features.   Author/Editor, for example
only supports so-called basic SGML.   Short references, for example, are
not supported.   And surely every SGML editor represents the documented being
edited in some form other than the ASCII SGML representation, so they too
"only" export and import SGML, in a tangible sense.

Anyway, I'm not holding my breath.  It would be nice to get a demo version
to play with, and a complete set of documentation.

Finally, I see an email address for Frame on the back cover, in case any 
of you would like to get in direct contact with the company:  comments@frame.com
 
---
Thomas F. Gordon
GMD, FIT; Artificial Intelligence Research Division
5205 Sankt Augustin 1 / Germany
email: thomas.gordon@gmd.de;  phone: (+49 2241) 14-2665