DOCBOOK-APPS: About FO (was db2latex)

Sebastian Rahtz wrote:
>  FOP: java, changing constantly, getting better. a
>        typical open source non-stable project (thats not a criticism)
>  XEP: from RenderX, a slightly unusual small company who are really
>        interested in big contracts not individual sales. more stable,
>        more complete implementation, pretty good quality
>  PassiveTeX: uses TeX to render FO, so traditional TeX setup. good at
>        what it does, but incomplete coverage of the spec, and requires
>        specialized TeX knowledge to hack
>  Unicorn FO: uses TeX, with preprocessing. I havent tried it recently
>  Arbortext: I have never seen a copy
>  IBM: have something, I know no more
>  Antenna House: Windows application which uses Windows GDI. pretty
>        good commercial implementation, but free evaluation
> 
> summary: immature marketplace.

I'm a newbie trying to get a lay of the landscape too.

Is Sgml/Dsssl a better approach to produce PDF with less pain?

-- 
Jeffrey L. Franks  (Web)  http://www.motiftools.org
                   (Mail)