Microsoft Assistance Markup Language
Encyclopedia
Microsoft Assistance Markup Language (Microsoft AML, generally referred to as MAML) is an XML
-based markup language
developed by the Microsoft User Assistance Platform team to provide user assistance ("online help") for the Microsoft Windows Vista
operating system. It is somewhat of a departure from all previous types of user assistance for Windows operating systems. Some of its features have been available in .NET Framework 2, but more options shipped with the release of .NET Framework 3.
The current type of user assistance for Windows operating systems uses files created with a command line compiler (hhc.exe) that compiles a .hhp (project) file, .hhc (table of contents) file, .hhk (index) file, and a collection of HTML
topic files and the related resources (CSS, JavaScript, and image files) into one .chm
file. The most significant aspect of MAML is that it shifts the production of user assistance to the concept of structured authoring (somewhat similar to DITA
or DocBook
). Documents and their constituent elements are defined by their context.
The emphasis is on content and the tasks a user performs with a computer, not the features of the software. Presentation is managed as part of the rendering engine when a user requests a topic.
The MAML authoring structure is divided into segments related to a type of content: conceptual, FAQ
, glossary, procedure, reference, reusable content, task, troubleshooting, and tutorial.
Three levels of transformation occur when a topic is displayed: structure, presentation, and rendering.
The structural transformation contains reusable content and applies conditional logic to determine the structure that content should take when it is displayed, and the content of the text itself.
The presentation transformation enables content authored in MAML to use many different formats, including DHTML
, XAML, RTF
, and printed material.
The rendering transformation applies stylesheets and displays the final content to users.
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....
-based markup language
Markup language
A markup language is a modern system for annotating a text in a way that is syntactically distinguishable from that text. The idea and terminology evolved from the "marking up" of manuscripts, i.e. the revision instructions by editors, traditionally written with a blue pencil on authors' manuscripts...
developed by the Microsoft User Assistance Platform team to provide user assistance ("online help") for the Microsoft Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
operating system. It is somewhat of a departure from all previous types of user assistance for Windows operating systems. Some of its features have been available in .NET Framework 2, but more options shipped with the release of .NET Framework 3.
The current type of user assistance for Windows operating systems uses files created with a command line compiler (hhc.exe) that compiles a .hhp (project) file, .hhc (table of contents) file, .hhk (index) file, and a collection of HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
topic files and the related resources (CSS, JavaScript, and image files) into one .chm
Microsoft Compressed HTML Help
Microsoft Compiled HTML Help is a Microsoft proprietary online help format. It was introduced as the successor to Microsoft WinHelp with the release of Windows 98, and is still supported in Windows 7.-History:...
file. The most significant aspect of MAML is that it shifts the production of user assistance to the concept of structured authoring (somewhat similar to DITA
Darwin Information Typing Architecture
The Darwin Information Typing Architecture is an OASIS standard XML data model for authoring and publishing. Many third party tools support authoring, including Adobe FrameMaker, XMetaL, Arbortext, Quark XML Author, Oxygen XML Editor, easyDITA, and SDL Xopus...
or 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....
). Documents and their constituent elements are defined by their context.
The emphasis is on content and the tasks a user performs with a computer, not the features of the software. Presentation is managed as part of the rendering engine when a user requests a topic.
The MAML authoring structure is divided into segments related to a type of content: conceptual, FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
, glossary, procedure, reference, reusable content, task, troubleshooting, and tutorial.
Three levels of transformation occur when a topic is displayed: structure, presentation, and rendering.
The structural transformation contains reusable content and applies conditional logic to determine the structure that content should take when it is displayed, and the content of the text itself.
The presentation transformation enables content authored in MAML to use many different formats, including DHTML
Dynamic HTML
Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is an umbrella term for a collection of technologies used together to create interactive and animated web sites by using a combination of a static markup language , a client-side scripting language , a presentation definition language , and the Document Object Model.DHTML...
, XAML, 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....
, and printed material.
The rendering transformation applies stylesheets and displays the final content to users.
See also
- Online helpOnline helpOnline help is topic-oriented, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of user assistance. Most online help is designed to give assistance in the use of a software application or operating system, but can also be used to present information on a broad...
- Microsoft Compiled HTML Help
- WinHelpWinHelpMicrosoft WinHelp is a proprietary format for online help files that can be displayed by the Microsoft Help browser winhelp.exe or winhlp32.exe. The file format is based on Rich Text Format . It remained a popular Help platform from Windows 3.0 platform through Windows XP...
- MHTMLMHTMLMHTML, short for MIME HTML, is a web page archive format used to combine resources that are typically represented by external links together with HTML code into a single file. The content of an MHTML file is encoded as if it were an HTML e-mail message, using the MIME type multipart/related...
- Sandcastle
External links
- Microsoft Vista User Experience Guidelines at the MSDN Library
- Assistance Platform Team Blog at the Microsoft Developer Network (discontinued)
- MAML Guide 1.1 at Sandcastle Styles
- Help-Info: Information around Online Help (Microsoft), Examples, ..