Writing, better working, and tool design
DITA makes things dramatically easier, but it does not remove the need to define your own processes and architecture. It was never intended to do so. You can’t just fly your stuff from one place to another. The nature of the environment has changed. It’s as dramatic as a frog’s lifecycle from water to land. Put migration aside for now — your content needs to metamorphose, and you with it.
Distributed version control could make collaborative XML authoring faster, more reliable, and clearer. But the piece that’s missing from regular DVCS setups is an XML-aware merge tool. Project: Merge fills this gap. Here’s how I got it working with Mercurial in SourceTree on a Mac.
Every piece of business writing should tell a story. But constructing an argument or plot takes focus. Helpful tools remove the distraction of presentation and allow direct manipulation of the logical structure.
“Word Up!” is a required read for anyone who’s interested in language, wants to improve their writing, or just needs a clickworthy headline about a weird Chinese goat.
Inline semantics connected to specific real-world entities have unrealized potential; they should be separated from specific applications where possible; and they are probably best kept in the source.
