Variables vs Cross-references [WAS: Hiding Pages?]

[eric.dunn at ca.transport.bombardier.com]

"Ridder, Fred" <fred.ridder at intel.com> wrote on 06/08/2006 11:57:39 AM:
> In a situation where only the name changes, I find that it is *much*
> more maintainable to use a variable for the product name because
> you only have to make a change in one place (the variable's value
> definition) when one of the names changes or when a new variant
> is added to the list.

Personally, I don't like conditional text. Usually it gets far too complex 
very quickly and you're hobbled by the limitation of OR logic for 
overlapping conditions.

But, are variables the right answer? Why not Xrefs instead?

Perhaps this idea isn't terribly Earth shattering, but it came to me in a 
flash and I've been using it successfully for some time now. The idea 
struck me as more of a 'DUH' kind of realisation when I implemented it, 
but after giving a FrameMaker class, I was amazed at how foreign the idea 
seemed to so many.

The situation was this: hundreds of components, multiple ways of writing 
their descriptions, abbreviations, and specifications which led to an 
unmanageable mass of variables.

So, I turned to cross-references.

A stand-alone document contains a three column table.
Column 1 - CB Number
Column 2 - CB Placard
Column 3 - Complete description

ex:
CB1     LIGHTING        CB1, LIGHTING

Three cross-reference formats are used:
1 - CBNumber
2 - CBPlacard
3 - CBPlacard (Num)

So, depending on the requirements I can include CB1, LIGHTING, or LIGHTING 
(CB1) in my documentation.

If the placard or information changes, I change the source document and 
that's it. A generate update of all books ensures the data is correct.

I've actually begun using the same approach for terms and equipment names. 
Any text that needs to maintain consistency is grouped with like terms in 
a file.

So three HUGE advantages IMO. First, no need to maintain a MIF snippet of 
variables or using a script/plug-in to import user variables only (because 
invariably, one or more of the system variables are defined differently 
for different sections/files). Second, instead of hundreds of variables, I 
have 3 Xref formats. Third, generating and updating is already a step in 
the publishing process. So, the step of importing variables is skipped and 
not there to be forgotten.

What are the downsides? Well, so far nothing. But I have an itch in the 
back of my skull concerning Xrefs and character formatting that I just 
can't shake. Something as to whether character formatting applied in the 
source (all character tagging is done using catalogue formats common to 
source and destination) is kept in the destination or not...

Anyone know what I should be worrying about?

Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer

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