The only time I did it, I actually found writing XSLT code quite intellectually interesting (despite the language having absolutely the most grotesque syntax known to man). There is clearly something very wrong with me.
The real problem is that there is no clear alternative to a lot of the things we now use XML for. Prior to the XML era, the usual solution to XML stuff was often to invent some special little Lisp dialect.
Sorry, I just use Emacs and Mercurial for all my writing projects away from work, where I must use the accursed Word software. I'd be interested in what others suggest though.
See, religious differences - I was raised a vi user, never used emacs. (actually never used Mercurial either, but I'm less religious on the source code control subject. I still mostly use subversion, but I know it isn't the state of the art any more)
I used Scrivener for a bit, for keeping a copy of reference material and for organising essays. It was good when I used it frequently, however it takes a while to load so if I'm not using it much I prefer to just use finder/spotlight.
Most of my lecture notes for project management were written with "Freemind" - basic mind-mapping software; each cell can be text or html.
I also used "Endnote" software. This was around 5 years ago; at the time Endnote wasn't quite customisable enough in terms of how it formatted the bibliography but was otherwise generally ok to use. I assume there have been several new versions released since then.
(In terms of general database software, I've recently started playing with Bento. It's easy to create basic databases which you can then synchronise with your iphone & ipad. So now I have a list of movies I've been meaning to watch, when I go to the video library)
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It is a good reference tracker, though, if you happen to change your mind in the not-to-distant future!
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These feelings need to be excised. Either through birching or excessive alcohol consumption, preferably gin*.
* While it is known that gin makes a man mean it also makes him dislike unnecessary use of markup languages.
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The real problem is that there is no clear alternative to a lot of the things we now use XML for. Prior to the XML era, the usual solution to XML stuff was often to invent some special little Lisp dialect.
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(actually never used Mercurial either, but I'm less religious on the source code control subject. I still mostly use subversion, but I know it isn't the state of the art any more)
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Most of my lecture notes for project management were written with "Freemind" - basic mind-mapping software; each cell can be text or html.
I also used "Endnote" software. This was around 5 years ago; at the time Endnote wasn't quite customisable enough in terms of how it formatted the bibliography but was otherwise generally ok to use. I assume there have been several new versions released since then.
(In terms of general database software, I've recently started playing with Bento. It's easy to create basic databases which you can then synchronise with your iphone & ipad. So now I have a list of movies I've been meaning to watch, when I go to the video library)
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Prk
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