pdf's of Acts

[Owen Blacker]

David Hansen:
> 
> > The layout of documents contains information that can be important and
> > I would not want a format used that discards this.
> 
> HTML does not discard the layout. However, it does not slavishly try 
> and keep the layout precisely the same on every output device, to the 
> detriment of readability.

Indeed and, in this case, I too would prefer HTML format (either paged or 
not).  Though I would print from a PDF.

The problem is that, with Parliamentary Bills, one often refers to page and 
line numbers, as well as clause numbers.  With Acts, it's much more usual to 
refer simply to section numbers, but the levels of indentation and the margin 
annotation are important information.

Yes, ideally the information would be conveyed better in Parliamentary 
documents, but it's not and it's not likely to change pticly soon, so both HTML 
(which will be bloated by tables) and PDF are the two formats they should 
publish in, imho.  As they already do.

Ideally, I spose, they should publish in something like XML and supply a 
handful of XSLT templates, to produce a rendered document in the format of your 
choice.  But that'd ~really~ confuse the parliamentary drafters, I'm sure.

Of course, I might be open to job offers to help scope and build something 
along those lines, if any civil servant reading this thinks it'd be a pticly 
good idea...  *GRIN*


O x
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