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DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide--New from O'Reilly: The Official Documentation for DocBook

Press release: May 26, 2010

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Sebastopol, CA—If you need a reliable tool for technical documentation, DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly Media, $49.99 USD) is a clear and concise reference which will help you take advantage of DocBook, the popular XML schema originally developed to document computer and hardware projects. DocBook 5.0 has been expanded and simplified to address documentation needs in other fields, and it's quickly becoming the tool of choice for many content providers.

"DocBook has been an industry standard schema for a long time," says author Norman Walsh. "Although it's used 'out-of-the box' by a large number of authors, it's also customized, sometimes significantly, for documentation projects as well. Building on our foundation of more than a decade of experience, DocBook V5 has been re-factored to use modern schema languages (RELAX NG and Schematron), simplify the schema, and branch into new areas, including publishing, eLearning, and topic-oriented writing."

DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide is the complete, official documentation of DocBook 5.0. You'll find everything you need to know to use DocBook 5.0's features—including its improved content model—whether you're new to DocBook or an experienced user of previous versions.

  • Learn how to write DocBook XML documents
  • Understand DocBook 5.0's elements and attributes, and how they fit together
  • Determine whether your documents conform to the DocBook schema
  • Learn about options for publishing DocBook to various output formats
  • Customize the DocBook schema to meet your needs
  • Get additional information about DocBook editing and processing

Advance Praise
"This much-anticipated update to DocBook: The Definitive Guide catches DocBook up with the latest standards in XML. No one knows DocBook better than Norm Walsh, who has shaped DocBook's development for more than 16 years. This authoritative book is a must-have for DocBook users and developers.
—Bob Stayton, Principal Consultant, Sagehill Enterprises, and author of DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide

For a review copy or more information please email peyton@oreilly.com Please include your delivery address and contact information.

Norman Walsh is a Lead Engineer at Mark Logic Corporation where he works with the Application Services team. Norm is also an active participant in a number of standards efforts worldwide: he is chair of the XML Processing Model Working Group at the W3C where he is also co-chair of the XML Core Working Group. At OASIS, he is chair of the DocBook Technical Committee. With more than a decade of industry experience, Norm is well known for his work on DocBook and a wide range of open source projects.

Richard L. Hamilton has over ten years experience leading writing teams and documentation tools teams at AT&T, Novell, and Hewlett-Packard. He is an independent consultant specializing in the application of XML technology to technical documentation, and is also a member of the OASIS DocBook Technical Committee. He is the author of Managing Writers: A Real World Guide to Managing Technical Documentation, published in January, 2009 by XML Press.

Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596805012

DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide
Norman Walsh, Edited by Richard L. Hamilton
ISBN: 978-0-596-80502-9, 560 pages,
Book Price: $49.99 USD, £38.50 GBP
Ebook Price: $39.99 USD

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