[389] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
RE: ascii as a means of exchange
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Pendergast, Stephen)
Mon Jun 1 09:25:18 1992
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1992 08:19:53 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU>
From: "Pendergast, Stephen" <0000440@MSGATE.EMIS.hac.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
----- ITEM 1 -----
From: 0000440@MRAM_EDEN@EDEN
Author: Pendergast, Stephen L
To: PACSL@SMTPGATE@SSW@EDEN
To: 28=INTERNET @ISUMVS.IASTATE.EDU@26=LB$JVC@27=CASWELL, JERRY
V@MRAM_EDEN@EDEN
Created: //
Time: ::
Subject: RE: ascii as a means of exchange
To : Caswell, Jerry V,EDEN::SSW::SMTPGATE::PACSL
Date: 29-MAY-1992 16:28:31.00
Jerry Caswell wrote:
_______________________________________________________________________________
>Instead we are exploring ways to mount them on a LAN server and make them
>available to our users through some text management software.
>For that reason only those resources available in ASCII format can be of any
>real use to us. I suspect that there are other institutions who feel
I believe that providing local on-line access to introductory guides is the way
to go. However, restricting them to pure ascii makes them less useful than
formatted documents with graphics. Certainly this is the current wave of
macintosh and pc/windows document publishing, to provide electronic interchange
of formatted documents.
Adobe PostScript(tm) has been used as a defacto standard for the interchange of
such documents on the net, and it is reasonably effective, however its use as
an online medium is limited. There is postscript preview software for such
machines as Sun and Next has postscript builtin, which allow it to be used as
an online medium. However it is relatively inefficient in storage requirements,
so that it is normally conveyed in compressed format, and does not lend itself
to database incorporation.
Microsoft has a "rich text format" which allows formatting to be preserved in
an ASCII file, but doesn't include graphics. Gif+UUencode is the Compuserve/net
defacto standard for encoding of pixel graphics. There have been several
shareware programs generated for the Macintosh, including Printit and Docter
which encode formatted documents, and provide a free decoder for document
distribution. Tidbits, (a Macintosh newsletter) is distributed in something
called Setex, and of course there is the old standby TeX. The Department of
Defense has an ongoing project called CALS, which establishes standards for
electronic exchange of technical documentation.
I would be interested in the input of list participants to discuss the
standardization of formats for electronic exchange and storage of documents.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen L Pendergast, Senior Scientist/Engineer, Hughes Aircraft Company
Ground Systems Group, PO Box 3310 Bldg 604/MS B152, Fullerton, CA 92634
Voice: (714)732-2579 Personal - No Company/Official Responsibility
Email: penderga@hac2arpa.hac.com Fax: (714)732-0242
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