The DocBook SGML specification allows publishers to markup text content to be used in traditional print as well as on the Web. DocBook: TheDefinitive Guide examines and catalogues the entirety of the DocBook specification and will be useful to anyone who uses SGML to publish documents.

DocBook uses SGML to structure the contents of a book, identifying such elements as authors, chapters, headings, etc. The heart of DocBook: The Definitive Guide lies in its full reference of more than300 DocBook elements, organised alphabetically (from "Abbrev" to "Year"). The syntax of each element is described, along with sample SGML code illustrating its proper usage.

This book assumes a working knowledge of SGML, though basic concepts are described during the introduction. Later reference sections present a wide range of DocBook "entities." (These are values that can be used to describe custom content within a DocBook document). Character entities, codes used to describe diacritics and mathematical symbols are also listed.

Later sections address Docbook customisation, including removal of unused elements. As you might expect, no single publishing scheme employs every SGML element available; however, like any good reference, it includes a discussion of each element that could conceivably be used. Another useful section discusses the relationship between DocBook and XML, including the fairly simple conversion possibilities for cross translating these markup types.

DocBook is a powerful way to distribute books, both in traditional print and online. Provided you have some knowledge of SGML, anyone who makes use of the DocBook specification will benefit from this worthy reference. --Richard Dragan, Amazon.com