Document Style Semantics and Specification Language
Encyclopedia
Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL) is a computer language for specifying stylesheets for SGML
documents, based on a subset of the Scheme programming language. It is specified by the standard ISO
/IEC
10179:1996. It was developed by ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34
(ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1, Subcommittee 34 - Document description and processing languages).
SGML contains information in a machine-readable but not very human-readable
format. A "stylesheet" is used to present the information stored in SGML in a more pleasing or accessible way. DSSSL can convert to a wide range of formats, including RTF
, HTML
, and LaTeX
.
Although compatible with any SGML, DSSSL is most often used with DocBook
.
With the appearance of XML
as an alternative to SGML, XML's associated stylesheet language XSL
was also widely and rapidly adopted, from around 1999. Although DSSSL continued in use within the shrinking SGML field, XSL was very soon in use more extensively, and by more coders, than DSSSL had ever achieved. This was emphasised when previous SGML strongholds such as DocBook converted from SGML to XML, and also converted their favoured stylesheet language from DSSSL to XSL.
DSSSL was thought to be too complex for the World Wide Web
and the World Wide Web Consortium
thought about creating a DSSSL-Lite.
Standard Generalized Markup Language
The Standard Generalized Markup Language is an ISO-standard technology for defining generalized markup languages for documents...
documents, based on a subset of the Scheme programming language. It is specified by the standard ISO
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
/IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission
The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...
10179:1996. It was developed by ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34
ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34 titled as Document description and processing languages is a subcommittee of the ISO/IEC JTC1 joint technical committee, which is a collaborative effort of both the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission.-Scope and Terms...
(ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1, Subcommittee 34 - Document description and processing languages).
SGML contains information in a machine-readable but not very human-readable
Human-readable
A human-readable medium or human-readable format is a representation of data or information that can be naturally read by humans.In computing, human-readable data is often encoded as ASCII or Unicode text, rather than presented in a binary representation...
format. A "stylesheet" is used to present the information stored in SGML in a more pleasing or accessible way. DSSSL can convert to a wide range of formats, including RTF
Rich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
, HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
, and LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
.
Although compatible with any SGML, DSSSL is most often used with DocBook
DocBook
DocBook is a semantic markup language for technical documentation. It was originally intended for writing technical documents related to computer hardware and software but it can be used for any other sort of documentation....
.
With the appearance of XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
as an alternative to SGML, XML's associated stylesheet language XSL
XSL
The three-letter abbreviation XSL may have multiple meanings, as described below:* In computing, the Extensible Stylesheet Language: a set of language technologies for defining XML document transformation and presentation* XSL Formatting Objects...
was also widely and rapidly adopted, from around 1999. Although DSSSL continued in use within the shrinking SGML field, XSL was very soon in use more extensively, and by more coders, than DSSSL had ever achieved. This was emphasised when previous SGML strongholds such as DocBook converted from SGML to XML, and also converted their favoured stylesheet language from DSSSL to XSL.
DSSSL was thought to be too complex for the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
and the World Wide Web Consortium
World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
thought about creating a DSSSL-Lite.
External links
- DSSSL portal
- James Clark's DSSSL page
- [ftp://ftp.ornl.gov/pub/sgml/WG8/DSSSL/ The final text of the DSSSL standard] - See README file in there for copyright notice.
- DSSSL Example - what DSSSL looks like