From Markup to Markdown: The Evolution of Technical Writing, Typesetting Tools and Frameworks | Springer Nature Link
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From Markup to Markdown
The Evolution of Technical Writing, Typesetting Tools and Frameworks
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Authors:
Jim Hall<br>ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9018-36200
Jim Hall
St Paul, USA
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Explore the history of technical writing in the age of the personal computer, from the 1960s to the present day
Understand how key writing technologies and tools have evolved over time
Full of practical code examples from RUNOFF, dot matrix printing, and Markdown
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About this book
From Markup to Markdown is a history of how writers have used computers to write, and a look ahead to see what the future looks like for technical writing. This book explores both “technology history” and “how it works” about how we write with computers, with code examples so readers can explore and fully understand how each writing tool and framework works behind the scenes.
Starting with an overview of the major milestones of writing with digital technologies since the 1960s, you will learn about RUNOFF and how this inspired roff on Unix (and the more familiar versions, nroff and troff). You will also explore word processing milestones like WordStar, and printing technologies like the phototypesetter and the dot matrix printer, before moving onto modern markup and writing systems like HTML, Markdown and DITA and how they play a role in how we write today.
From Markup to Markdown is ideal for writers, technical communication professionals, history of computing researchers as well as “retro-computing” enthusiasts.
You Will Learn to:
Explore the history of technical writing in the age of the personal computer, from the 1960s to the present day
Understand how the technologies and tools have evolved over time
Learn how each tool works with simple and clear code samples and exercises, giving you an under-the-hood understanding of how each system works, from RUNOFF markup to modern Markdown
This Book is For:<br>Technical writers, technology history enthusiasts and researchers.
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History of Computing
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
Front Matter
Pages i-xvi
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A Brief History of Writing with Computers
Jim Hall
Pages 1-9
Early Document Preparation Tools with Computers
Jim Hall
Pages 11-56
Professional Computer-Based Document Preparation
Jim Hall
Pages 57-107
Advanced Computer-Based Document Preparation
Jim Hall
Pages 109-130
Scientific Document Preparation
Jim Hall
Pages 131-147
Desktop Word Processors
Jim Hall
Pages 149-180
Desktop Printing
Jim Hall
Pages 181-230
Modern Document Markup Systems
Jim Hall
Pages 231-263
What’s Next
Jim Hall
Pages 265-304
Back Matter
Pages 305-323
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Authors and Affiliations
St Paul, USA
Jim Hall
About the author
Jim Hall has spent the last 30 years at at the intersection of open source, technology, and technical writing, contributing to open source since the 1990s including the FreeDOS Project and GNOME. Since 2010, Jim has been a regular contributor to Linux Journal, Opensource.com, Both.org, Technically We Write, and All Things Open and enjoys writing articles about how things work, including programming, Linux, command line, and open source and web development tools and applications.
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This PDF has been created in accordance with the PDF/UA-1 standard to enhance accessibility, including screen reader support, described non-text content (images, graphs), bookmarks for easy navigation, keyboard-friendly links and forms and searchable, selectable text. We recognize the importance of accessibility, and we welcome queries about accessibility for any of our products. If you have a question or an access need, please get in touch with us at accessibilitysupport@springernature.com. Please note that a more accessible version of this eBook...