Maximizing your content value: XML by Michael Edson

For example, XML content (in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing) can be transformed into a variety of forms of HTML for the web, a variety of E-reader formats, PDF formats, and so on. What is more, if a publisher is set up properly, all of these formats can be distributed or redistributed quickly and efficiently with the push of a button.

Content restructuring
XML content can be easily restructured using these same processing languages. For example, content can be automatically restructured from a two column screen or print format to a single column format to meet the screen requirements of E-readers. The reverse is also possible with enough foresight.

Customized content experiences
Another useful technique is for content to be efficiently revised for individual user types, providing each customer type with customized content experiences. As an example, Deti Group is currently delivering educational publishing content that is more extensively laid out for beginner teachers than for advanced teachers. The ability to structure content in different ways and to remove certain content from advanced users’ intial view was not initially anticipated, and was added post initial content creation. The way this could happen was due to the use of XML and several techniques described in this article series.

Adding content interactivity
XML content can automatically be provided with interactive capabilities using the same techniques. JavaScript capabilities can be easily woven into XML content as it is transformed to HTML, or even afterwards if it is XHTML. Deti Group is also doing a lot in this area to create various interactive features and to automatically update content to use them. For example, if new HTML5 features are desirable, large volumes of content can be updated automatically to take advantage of new and even currently unanticipated interactive features.

Content aggregation
Finally, content components can be aggregated into new publications, either by editorial request or by end users using these same techniques. With the use of XML and proper forsight, content from multiple publications can be easily stitched together into a single PDF for download, a single E-book, or other publication type. This kind of power is highly appealing these days and is being provided more and more often, such as with Wikipedia’s book creator. Deti Group is currently working with partner ITC Infotech to provide this capability to a STEM and trade publisher (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

Advanced processing
Regular advanced processing is also possible using these techniques, such as the XSL-based automatic extraction of simplified XML content from the Adobe InDesign or InCopy files for automatic posting to a WebCMS and syndication. Deti Group is involved in this type of work, particularly for publishers with requirements for regular content distributions, usually at a weekly basis or less, such as certain magazine and newspaper publishers.