+++
title = 'August HTML/SGML editor'
date = '1999-08-01T00:00:00Z'
description = ''
author = 'Michalis Kabrianis(mailto:kabrianis@hellug.gr)'
issue = ['Magaz 16']
issue_weight = 3
+++

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*August is an HTML editor, coded by [Johan Bengtsson](mailto:johanb@lls.se). As August is under GPL, we (Magaz team that is) decided to modify it in order to
use it as an SGML editor.*

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**1. Why?**
------------------------------------

**2. August**
--------------------------------------

**3. SGML**
------------------------------------

**4. Modifications**
---------------------------------------------

**5. Feedback**
----------------------------------------


### [1. Why?]{#s1}

As everybody (!!!) knows, Magaz is written entirely in SGML, and then converted to HTML with sgml-tools and [Panagiotis Vryonis\'](mailto:vrypan@hellug.gr)
especially-modified-for-magaz mapping. Although that decision was made to make the creation of Magaz easier, it looks like most of Greek Linux users wishing to
submit - contribute an article had a problem coping with SGML. So, we decided to provide an easy way, for SGML authoring. Instead of writing an article,
explaining the SGML concepts, we found out that everybody finally learns what SGML is, and the problem is only the editor. So, Johans\' perfect HTML editor,
named [August](http://www.lls.se/~johanb/august/), was used as a base for \"our\" SGML editor.


### [2. August]{#s2}

August can be found at <http://www.lls.se/~johanb/august/>. It is a complete, non-wisiwyg HTML editor, coded in Tcl/Tk version 8.0. It provides buttons for the
most common HTML tags, such as bold, italics, preformatted, listing, underline, alignment, font color and size etc. Most advanced tags, such as tables,
column/row span, basic structure, form/script elements, are also supported. Of course, link/anchor creation is easy, through (you guessed it) a button-click,
while image inserting and, finally, previewing through netscape, is as easy as pushing the right button.\
Other features include the standard open, close, save, copy, cut, paste buttons, commenting, special character inserting, template creation, more than one open
windows, options\' settings, uppercase/lowercase letter transformation.\
Some of the features apply to selected text (for example bold text), so pushing that button with no text selected will have no effect at all, while some others,
such as new paragraph, have no restrictions of that type. That was expected, as not all the tags are the same. Although, the fact that August works that way,
really reveals that Johan knows HTML tags (and Tcl/Tk programming) very well.


### [3. SGML]{#s3}

Sgml is a Markup Language. That means nothing to the most of you, but I\'ll try to explain that. Markup languages, add special tags to text, so that when that
text is parsed through a specific program, the tags get a meaning, relative to the appearance of the text. The most well-known and broadly-used markup language
is HTML (which, by the way means Hyper Text Markup Language). Others, not so broadly known, are Math ML and XML. All of these (with the exeption of XML) are
actually subsets of SGML. SGML, through a DTD (Definition) file, may be converted (with use of sgml-tools, aka linuxdoc) to html, txt, ps, dvi, tex, info, rtf
etc.

If some sgml-tags have no similar tag for the resulting form, they are ignored. So, that\'s the way SGML works. No, it\'s not difficult. It\'s just different
(if you already know HTML).


### [4. Modifications]{#s4}

The modifications, where made against August version 0.30. We hope, if we can find more SGML tags, to make an option, so that August may be used either as SGML
or HTML editor.\
In order to modify the August, somebody would have to know SGML and Tcl/Tk as good as Johan knows HTML and Tcl/Tk respectively. Unfortunately, I\'m not the one
:-( I only know some of the tags we use in Magaz, and, as I have found no documentation at all regarding SGML, I have to admit that my knowledge won\'t get any
broader. Although, if anybody knows of a SGML tag not used in modified August, and the equivalent to HTML just let [us](mailto:magaz@hellug.gr) know.

![](/16/img/toolbar.jpg)

You may see the Toolbar on the figure above. From these, we have:

  --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
  \                                       **Nr - Row**                            **Meaning**                             **Modified**

                                          1 First                                 Exit                                    No need

                                          2 First                                 Close file                              No need

                                          3 First                                 New file                                No need

                                          4 First                                 Open file                               No need

                                          5 First                                 Save                                    No need

                                          6 First                                 Save As                                 No need

                                          7 First                                 Cut                                     No need

                                          8 First                                 Copy                                    No need

                                          9 First                                 Paste                                   No need

                                          10 First                                Bold                                    Yes

                                          11 First                                Italics                                 Yes

                                          12 First                                Underline                               No

                                          13 First                                Teletype                                Yes

                                          14 First                                Preformatted                            Yes

                                          15 First                                Paragraph                               Yes

                                          16 First                                Linebreak                               Yes

                                          17 First                                Comment                                 No

                                          18 First                                Help                                    No need

                                          1 Second                                Color                                   No

                                          2 Second                                Font                                    No

                                          3 Second                                Image                                   Sort of\...

                                          4 Second                                Link/anchor                             Yes/Yes

                                          5 Second                                Mailto                                  Yes

                                          6 Second                                Numbered list                           Yes

                                          7 Second                                Bullet list                             Yes

                                          8 Second                                Definition list                         Yes

                                          9 Second                                List item/definition                    Yes/Yes

                                          10 Second                               Left align                              No

                                          11 Second                               Centered                                No

                                          12 Second                               Right align                             No

                                          13 Second                               Basic structure                         Yes

                                          14 Second                               Table                                   Yes

                                          15 Second                               Rowspan                                 No

                                          16 Second                               Columnspan                              No

                                          17 Second                               Background color                        No

                                          18 Second                               Netscape preview                        No

                                                                                                                          
  --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------


### [5. Feedback]{#s5}

While August as a program is quite stable, modified August for SGML lacks a lot of functionality. All those form elements, tags, and other stuff missing, could
be there, if we get your feedback. You may get modified august from [Magaz\'s server](../files/sgml-edit.gz), try it and then send us your feedback. Together we
can make it better.

