| Developed by | Brian Reid, Scribe Systems |
|---|---|
| Type of format | Markup language |
| Extended to | Texinfo |
| Open format? | Yes |
Scribe is a markup language and word processing system that pioneered the use of descriptive markup.[1][2] Scribe was revolutionary when it was proposed, because it involved for the first time a clean separation of presentation and content.[3][4][5]
For his contributions in the area of computerized text-production and typesetting systems, specifically Scribe which represents a major advance in this area. It embodies several innovations based on computer science research in programming language design, knowledge-based systems, computer document processing, and typography.
Brian Reid. Ground-breaking text-formatting language. Reason for Reid getting a Hopper Medal in 1982.
Brian Reid's work with markup systems began in the 1970s. He independently invented and implemented descriptive markup and developed its theory. His Scribe system may have been the cleanest separation of structure and format ever built. His dissertation on it was already complete in 1981, the year he presented in Lausanne in the same session where Charles Goldfarb publicly presented GML; SGML was proposed about a year later
"Generalized", "generic", or "descriptive" markup has been discovered several times, apparently independently. Scribe [Reid 1981] is an early formatter based on structure rather than formatting commands.