What is the purpose of round-tripping Structured Framemaker and XML

[Scott Prentice]

Basically .. if your publishing process uses the XML files at some 
point, you're better off editing the XML files directly (round-tripping 
the XML) rather than editing the binary files and saving to XML 
occasionally. A binary FM file can contain content that may not be 
allowed in the XML data model, and round-tripping to XML will ensure 
that the files are always valid and "clean". This typically falls into 
the area of graphics and graphic properties as well as overstyling that 
can creep in. These things won't be caught by the structure validation 
(since they aren't part of the structure), and will typically get 
stripped out on save to XML.

Mike's points are also quite valid reasons to round-trip to XML.

If your publishing process does nit make use of XML at all, then there's 
probably no reason to save or round-trip to XML and it's OK to keep the 
files as FM binaries.

...scott

Scott Prentice
Leximation, Inc.
www.leximation.com
+1.415.485.1892



Mike Feimster wrote:
> I'm sure there are other reasons, but a some that come to mind are using
> are:
>
> 1. Editing/processing the files with different XML editor.
> 2. Processing the text with XSL or another programming language.
> 3. Storing the files in content management system or source control
> system. Although you can store FrameMaker binaries in most source
> control systems, XML files are text files, so you perform diffs and
> merges on them.
>
> Mike
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
> [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Celine
> Deguire
> Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 5:14 PM
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Subject: What is the purpose of round-tripping Structured Framemaker and
> XML
>
> Hello Framers
>
> I'm trying to figure out why I would need to round-trip between
> Structured Framemaker sources and XML. I thought it would be for
> translation purposes but one of my translators tells me that Trados (Tag
> editor) allows editing
> (translating) structured FM sources as well as XML.
>
> Regards
>
> Celine
>
>