On Mar 22, 2005, at 2:48 PM, Ben Ostrowsky wrote:

> Would any of you care to suggest how a Windows-using slob like myself
> (I
> have Cygwin and access to Linux machines) should start using DocBook to
> produce documentation?

I can answer that question, but the answer does not assume you are a
slob.  :-)

Step #1. Think about what you want to say.

Step #2. Write down what you want to say using a text editor.

Step #3. Mark-up your text using the DocBook vocabulary.

Step #4. Use a program called xmllint to check your mark-up for
well-formedness and validity.

Xmllint is an XML parser. It is written against a set of C libraries,
but you can get the whole thing as pre-compiled binaries. See (the
following slow link):

   http://www.zlatkovic.com/libxml.en.html

You might also consider using an XML editor, and of the ones I've seen,
I would recommend jEdit, but I would really suggest the outline above:

   http://jedit.org/

--
Eric Lease Morgan
University Libraries of Notre Dame

(574) 631-8604