Resource Library: Multimedia/Resource Library: Multimedia.iso/hypertxt/msdos/montana0/sgmg

Text File | 1993-03-05 | 13.7 KB | 249 lines

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[S6]    SGML SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
        (SIGS)
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Contents:   *  Graphic Communications Association (GCA)
            *  SGML Users' Group (SGMLUG)
            *  Electronic Publishing Special Interest Group (EPSIG)
            *  SGML DSIG/DBSIG (Database Special Interest Group)
            *  SGML SIGhyper (Hypertext and Multimedia SIG)
            *  European Workgroup on SGML (EWS)
            *  CALS In Europe Special Interest Group

[105] Graphic Communications Association (GCA)

The GCA is a national affiliate of Printing Industries of America, and
is a leading SGML sponsor.  Historically, GCA executives have played
strategic leadership roles in promoting the development of the SGML
standard; cf. [36].  Marion Elledge is the current Director of
Informatin Technologies; the GCA's current Board of Directors
(Information and Technologies track) in 1990 includes David Mayer
(Autotrol Technologies), Jon Slangerup (also Board Secretary; Federal
Express) and Yuri Rubinsky (President, SoftQuad).  GCA sponsors
numerous conferences, tutorials, workshops and seminars on SGML, CALS
and other technologies related to electronic publishing and
information processing. GCA's SGML events are announced in direct
mailings: its dedicated SGML newsletter [TAG], in the occasional
newsletter TECHInfo: News for the Information Management Community,
and in a quarterly magazine Perspectives.  GCA events are also covered
in each issue of the SGML Users' Group Newsletter, and in EPSIG News.

The GCA distributes ISO documents and other SGML-related publications,
with preferential rates for GCA members.  Included are CALS
specifications packages and SGML "handbooks" by Martin Bryan, Eric van
Herwijnen, Joan Smith and Charles Goldfarb.  Also available is the
GCA's publication The SGML Source Guide. The Graphic Communications
Association's Guide to Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
Systems, Software, Service, Consultants, Seminars and Resources.
Edited by Marion Elledge. ISBN 0-933505-13-2.  See [134].

Address: Graphic Communications Association; Attention: Marion Elledge
(Director, Information Technologies); 100 Daingerfield Road;
Alexandria, VA  22314 USA; TEL: [phone]; FAX [phone];
TELEX: 510-600-0889.

[106] SGML User's Group (SGMLUG)

The International SGML Users' Group was founded in 1984 by Joan M.
Smith, who served as its first president until 1990; the current
president editor is Pamela Gennusa of Datalogics and MID/Information
Logistics Group Ltd.  The objectives of the group are to promote the
use of the Standard Generalized Markup Language and to provide a forum
for exchange of information about SGML.  The Constitution of the SGML
Users' Group is published on pp. 7-8 of the SGML Users' Group
Newsletter 6 (November 1987); see also "SGML Users' Group
Constitution," SGML Users' Group Bulletin 1/1 (1986) 5-7; "Standard
Generalized Markup Language. Users' Group," Literary and Linguistic
Computing 3/1 (1988) 54.  Executive Council members for 1991 are as
follows. Officers: Pamela Gennusa (President), William W. Davis Jr.
(Vice President), Stephen G. Downie (Secretary), Francis J. Cave
(Treasurer); Members: Charles F. Goldfarb (Honarary Technical
Consultant), David W. Penfold (Bulletin Editor); Elected Members:
Sharon Adler, Marion Elledge, Paul Ellison, James D. Mason, Lynne
Price , Dieke van Wijnen.  For an address list of elected members,
national chapters, SIGs and pending chapters of the SGMLUG, see the
SGML Users' Group Newsletter 20 (September 1991) 9-11.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Users' Group is held in
conjunction with the International Markup Conference sponsored by the
Graphic Communications Association (GCA).  Regional and national
chapters and SIGs also meet occasionally throughout the year. There
are now several national chapters of SGMLUG (e.g., Dutch, German,
Japanese, Norwegian, Swiss, Canadian, New York) and several SGMLUG
SIGs (special interest groups, e.g., SGML Database SIG; SGML SIGhyper
- Hypertext and Multimedia; European Workshop on SGML).  Some of these
groups have dedicated serial publications in paper and electronic
format.

Membership in the SGMLUG includes up-to-date information about SGML
and related standards, reduced rates at events sponsored by the The
SGML Users' Group, a copy of each issue of the SGML Users' Group
Newsletter and SGML Users' Group Bulletin, discounts on books central
to SGML, and 10-percent discount for the MarkUp Conferences.  The
secretary of the SGML Users' Group maintains for members a
bibliography of other SGML-related publications in a document "SGML
Library," and will supply copies of these documents to group members.
These volumes include ISO standards documents and other SGML-related
publications available to members at discounted rates include:

Address: Mr. Stephen G. Downie; SGML Users' Group, Secretary; c/o
SoftQuad Inc.; 56 Aberfoyle Crescent, Suite 810; Toronto, Ontario;
Canada M8X 2W4; TEL: [phone]; FAX: [phone].

[107] Electronic Publishing Special Interest Group (EPSIG)

EPSIG (Electronic Publication Special Interest Group) is collaboration
between the AAP (with 250 member firms in the US) and OCLC (Online
Computer Library Center), serving 11,000 libraries.  EPSIG was invited
by the AAP to carry out development and promotion of the EPSIG/AAP
"Electronic Manuscript Standard" for the preparation, publication and
interchange of electronic manuscripts; see [53] above.  The primary
goals of EPSIG are to: (1) Promote the adoption and proliferation of
the Electronic Manuscript Standard; (2) Organize and present tutorials
and technical programs; (3) Provide an information clearinghouse for
documents pertaining to the Standard, EPSIG, and electronic
publishing; (4) Provide electronic mail to EPSIG members; (5) Provide
a toll-free helpline to provide advice and assistance with the
Standard; (6) Publish a quarterly newsletter; (7) Publish and sell
current and future EPSIG manuals related to the Standard; (8)
Coordinate standards input from members as revisions to the Standard
are required.

As of late 1991, electronic discussion lists were set up for committee
work on the Math and Tables specifications in the EMS.  The final
versions of this committee work will be submitted to be balloted as an
amendment to ANSI/NISO Z39.59-1988.  For the committee work on Math,
contact William B. Wolff of the American Mathematical Society (Email:
[e-mail]); for Tables, contact Paul Grosso of ArborText
([e-mail]).  See further in Paul Grosso's note, "First
Meeting of Math/Tables Update Committee Held," EPSIG News 4/4
(December 1991) 1-2.

EPSIG's newsletter EPSIG News is published quarterly (ISSN: 1042-
3737), and receipt of EPSIG News is a benefit of subscriber status.
EPSIG members receive discounts on SoftQuad and Software Exoterica
software products.  EPSIG Members also receive discounts at SGML
conferences sponsored by the GCA.  EPSIG promotes the EMS (American
National Standard for Electronic Manuscript Preparation and Markup.
(ANSI/NISO Z39.59-1988)) as well as several Guides and instructional
materials pertinent to electronic document preparation and data
interchange; see [54], [55], [56], [57].

Address: EPSIG (Electronic Publishing Special Interest Group);
Attention: Betsy Kiser, EPSIG Manager, MC 278; c/o OCLC; 6565 Frantz
Road; Dublin, OH  43017-0702 USA; TEL: [phone]; FAX: (614) 764-
6096.

[108] SGML Database Special Interest Group (DSIG or DBSIG)

The SGML DBSIG is an international effort loosely organized under the
SGML Users' Group and its national chapters for the development of
SGML(document) database strategies.

Contacts: Mr. Hans Mabelis; SGML DBSIG, Secretary; c/o Matrices
Software; Westeinde 14; 1017 ZP Amsterdam; THE NETHERLANDS; TEL: +31-
20-255-006; FAX: [phone];  Han Schouten, SGML DSIG; Research
Center for Technical and Physical Engineering in Agriculture (TFDL);
Mansholtlaan 12; 6700 AJ Wageningen; THE NETHERLANDS; TEL: +31-8370-
19143; FAX: [phone].

See: (1) Han Schouten, "SGML*CASE: The Storage of Documents in
Databases," SGML Users' Group Bulletin 4/1 (1989) 1-14;  (2) Han
Schouten, "Draft Tender re: Documents in Databases," SGML Users' Group
Newsletter 15 (January 1990) 12-14.  A major draft proposal for SGML
DSIG sponsored development of a prototype document processing
environment in which documents are stored as databases.  The
environment would support SGML, but also other SGML-related standards
like DSSSL -- "as an alternative for the sequential access strategy
characteristic of standard SGML."  Details on the objectives, tasks,
funding, deliverables, rights and duties of participants, project
management, (etc.) are described. Proposed tasks include specification
of a gross system architecture, definition of modelling techniques,
building and verifying semantic equivalence of all models with SGML
and DSSSL, facilities for loading SGML DTDs, facilities to unload DTDs
without loss of information, creation of a DTD editor, creation of a
structured document editor, building of retrieval facilities, building
a document formatter.

[109] SGML SIGhyper

The SGML Users' Group Special Interest Group on Hypertext and
Multimedia (SGML SIGhyper) is different from all other groups whose
focus is hypertext and multimedia theory, technology, and creativity.
The sole interest of SGML SIGhyper is the promulgation of information
about the "HyTime" Hypermedia/Time-based Structuring Language (ISO/IEC
Draft International Standard 10744), as a worldwide standard technical
framework for integrated open hypermedia.  As an application of SGML,
Hytime is a "standard neutral markup language for representing
hypertext, multimedia, hypermedia, and time- and space-based documents
in terms of their logical structure."  See further item [72], "ISO/IEC
DIS 10744" above.  The organizers of SIGhyper hope that the
publishing, documentation, entertainment, education, and information
processing industries will evaluate HyTime as an appropriate standard
toward which they all can migrate in an orderly and profitable
fashion.  See: (1)  Steven R. Newcomb (et al.), "'HyTime': The
Hypermedia/Time-based Document Structuring Language," CACM 34/11
(November 1991) 67-83;  (2) on SMDL (Standard Music Description
Language), an application of HyTime, thus similarly based upon SGML:
Steven R. Newcomb, "Standard Music Description Language Complies with
Hypermedia Standard," IEEE Computer 24/7 (July 1991) 76-79.

The current (1991) chairman of SIGhyper is:  Steven R. Newcomb; c/o
TechnoTeacher, Inc.; 1810 High Road; Tallahassee, FL 32303-4408; USA;
TEL: [phone]; FAX: [phone]; Internet: [e-mail].
The current (1991) vice chairman and maintainer of the SIGhyper on-
line library is: Erik Naggum; c/o Naggum Software; Box 1570 Vika;
0118; OSLO, NORWAY; Internet: [e-mail] OR [e-mail].
Current SIGhyper documents available for public access from the online
library are on the following hosts: ftp.ifi.uio.no:/SIGhyper and at
mailer.cc.fsu.edu:/pub/sgml.

[110] European Workgroup on SGML (EWS)

The EWS is a cooperative effort by publishers, database developers,
typesetters and other representatives from commercial and academic
sectors to produce standard DTDs for scientific articles.  The DTDs
are to be used to facilitate document interchange between researchers,
and between scholars and publishers.  The Workgroup is loosely
associated with the International SGML Users' Group.  For specific
details on the published MAJOUR DTDs and current work, see below entry
[132] subsection (b).

Questions regarding the full activities of the EWS may be directed to
Holger Wendt or Dieke van Wijnen.  Addresses: Holger Wendt; Springer
Verlag GmbH & Co. KG; Postfach 105280; Tiergartenstrasse 17; D-6900
Heidelberg 1; GERMANY; TEL: [phone]; FAX: [phone];
Email (BITNET) WENDT@DHDSPRI6;  Dieke van Wijnen; New Media
Department; Wolters Kluwer Academic Publishers; Spuiboulevard 50,
Postbus 989; 3300 AZ Dordrecht; THE NETHERLANDS; TEL: [phone];
FAX: [phone].  See further in: (1) "Report on the 5th MAJOUR-
body meeting of the European Workshop on SGML (EWS) at CERN, Geneva,
on 30-Sept-1991," (SGML PROJECT REPORT NO 5) by Paul Ellison,
Director-SGML Project, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER COMPUTER UNIT, 14 November
1991;  (2) "European Workshop on SGML," SGML Users' Group Newsletter
20 (September 1991) 22;  (3) "European Workgroup on SGML Plan to
Become SIG," SGML Users' Group Newsletter 19 (April 1991) 9; (4)
"European Workgroup to Publish Draft DTD for Scientific Articles,"
SGML Users' Group Newsletter 18 (November 1990) 13.

[111] CALS In Europe Special Interest Group

This SIG under the aegis of the International SGML Users' Group was
formed in 1989 under the leadership of Joan Smith.  See her article in
the inaugural issue of the main publication organ: "The Proposal to
Form a SIG for CALS in Europe," EuroCALS Newsletter 1 (September 1989)
2.  The objectives of the SIG are to acquaint all interested parties
with the requirements of the US DoD CALS program, and to provide
assistance in meeting those requirements. Membership in the SIG
includes copies of the Newsletter, reduced registration fee rates for
events sponsored by the SIG, and discounted rates for various other
CALS/SGML conferences.

Contact: David Ardron, Secretary, CALS in Europe SIG; Ferranti
Computer Systems Ltd,; Western Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1RA;
UNITED KINGDOM; TEL: [phone]; FAX: [phone]; TELEX: 848117
FERBKL G.  Subscription rate (1991): 20 pounds UK.