pdf's of Acts

[Jeremy Barker]

Owen Blacker wrote:

> 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.

The draftsmen are not concerned with the technology used - after all they are
lawyers!  They write the text. Its publishing types who actually worry about the
formatting (which follows a few fairly simple rules).


> 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*

They already have a pretty sophisticated publishing system that underlies the
Statute Law Database.  Unfortunately the SLD is not normally available outside
government while they sort out whether and how people will pay to access it.  All
mere mortals get is access to some of the less sophisticated output from the SLD in
HTML format.

jb - who is a lawyer but used to be a software engineer.