Subject: Re: Linux software on YDL - FrameMaker 5.5.6 beta
From: Ted Goranson (tedg@sirius-beta.com)
Date: Wed Nov 21 2001 - 10:38:27 MST
>Best bet might be MOL + FrameMaker. I don't recall its being a huge
>resource drain so that might work all right.
Frame is an unglamorous app that is unique in its niche. It has
features not easily reproducable in any other tool, has a monopoly on
technical documentation and is heavily used in corporations and
government agencies. I use it and consider it the most reliable and
income-producing app in my library. It is cross-platform: Unix, Mac,
Windows.
It began life as a Unix app, moved to Mac, then a couple years later
was bought by Adobe and moved to windows. But it still employs emacs
keyboard commands, has bland x-windows palettes, and is based on a
markup language that is unix-based. Adobe has added no new features
in the perhaps five years they have owned it. It is the only app they
have not "harmonized" with their corporate user interface.
There is a lot of speculation on the Framers list about Frame on
unix, linux, MacOS X. The consensus seems to be that Linux is not yet
a viable client in their core base of corporate users, and not likely
to be because it offers no compelling advantage. Adobe would support
the need if it were there.
I myself believe that a killer app combo could be an Xemacs/Frame
combo on Linux, but then you would need some environment tools: an
illustrator-class vector tool, a Webworks Publisher HTML etc output
repurposer and an accessible scripting tool like Applescript Studio.
Possibly the YDL future might play a role in this if there could be a
better MOL-YDL-OSX integration.
Best, Ted
-- _____________ Ted Goranson Sirius-Beta and the Advanced Enterprise Research Office at ODU 757/426-6704 tedg@sirius-beta.com Virtual Enterprise Framework: http://sourceforge.net/projects/alfve/
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