Re: How to e-publish?

I (Brian Tung) wrote:
Interesting. I would say that what dictates my choice of PDF vs HTML is
how much I care about how the text/images are formatted. If I create a
PDF, that's almost entirely under my control. If it's HTML, I have some
control, but I'm at least partly at the mercy of the viewer's browser.

John Steinberg wrote:
Although HTML has come a long way, PDFs are the industry standard in
advertising delivery, because of the superb output controls and
workflow systems already in place.

HTML is more like an Etch-a-Sketch than a professionally produced PDF.
Utile but not terribly clean or consistent enough for hard-core uses.

I don't think the salient difference is that HTML is more crude (though
that seems to be the case, often). I make an analogy to obtaining a
piece of furniture. Getting a PDF is like getting the furniture already
assembled; it's convenient, but it takes up a bit of space in shipping
and handling. Raw HTML is like the instructions for assembling your own
furniture. What your browser displays on the basis of that HTML is like
what happens when you have the IKEA monkey assemble your furniture for
you.

In short, what your browser shows is the content the provider had in
mind, filtered through your browser settings and the rendering engine
the browser coders so nicely put together for you.

How are my West Coast brothers and sisters holding up under your heat
wave?

Uncomfortably, but we live near the coast, so thus far, no major issues.

--
Brian Tung <brian@xxxxxxx>
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html
.

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