What is in the HOWTO

This HOWTO contains practical information about the use of SGML and XML on a Debian operating system.

The HOWTO is task-oriented: you will see what Debian packages you will need for various tasks, and how to use them. It is intended for hurried people, who do not like to read and understand everything before starting and who prefers "hands on" training.

We will cover SGML (and its subset XML), some DTD which I find important and the tools to write, format and display SGML, whether on the Web or in printing. The emphasis will be on SGML as a way to write documentation, not as a general data interchange tool.

What's not in the HOWTO

You will not find anything about installing and setting up software, since we assume a Debian system, where everything is already packaged. We will use only Debian packages, as they are shipped with Debian 2.2, nicknamed 'potato' (not yet ready when writing this).

This is not a tutorial on SGML or XML. Refer to the Section called References for that type of information. Instead, you will get just enough SGML to get you started right now.

Meta-information about this HOWTO

This HOWTO is itself written in DocBook (XML) on a Debian system. The HOWTO can be retrieved from my Web page, including its source code.

Why is this HOWTO specific to Debian?

I said the purpose was to start quickly, remember? This means using actual filenames, actual commands and not wasting time compiling jade. And I hate to insert "Your mileage way vary" warnings everywhere. Therefore, I chose a specific operating system and I used the best one, Debian, which is also the only one with an integrated SGML environment... Even if it is not perfect, it works and, with this HOWTO, it even has a documentation.

I added some pointers to other operating systems.