Database publishing is an area of automated media production in which specialized techniques are used to generate paginated documents from source data residing in traditional

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

s such as product information management ( PIM), digital asset management (

DAM A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. Common examples are mail order catalogues,

direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a Target market, pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response ...

, report generation, price lists and

telephone directories A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...

. The database content can be in the form of text and pictures but can also contain metadata related to formatting and special rules that may apply to the document generation process. Database publishing can be incorporated into larger workflows as a component, where documents are created, approved, revised and released. The basic idea is using database contents like product information, article and price information to fill out pre-formatted template documents. Templates are typically created in a normal desktop layout application where certain boxes or text are designated as placeholders. These placeholders are then targeted with new content which flows in from the database. This allows for quick generation of final output and, in case of changes to the database, quickly perform updates, with limited or no manual intervention. This process is facilitated by specialized software solutions that automate the integration of database content into templates, like InBetween software solution. Such software automates the creation of documents such as catalogs and price lists by integrating product data from various sources. Another model of database publishing is found in many web-to-print sites where users browse templates from an online catalog (such as business cards or brochures), personalize the selected template by filling in a form and then view the rendered result. In this case the initial source of data is from user input, but it is captured in a database so that if the same user revisits the site later, they can resume editing where they left off. The form is then pre-filled from the database-stored variables the user entered before. The main layout applications for this workflow are Datalogics Pager,

Adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

FrameMaker Adobe FrameMaker is a document processor designed for writing and editing large or complex documents, including structured documents. It was originally developed by Frame Technology Corporation, which was bought by Adobe. Overview FrameMake ...

InDesign Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing and page layout designing software application produced by Adobe and first released in 1999. It can be used to create works such as posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, presentations, books ...

QuarkXPress QuarkXPress is desktop publishing software for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment. It runs on macOS and Windows. It was first released by Quark, Inc. in 1987 and is still owned and p ...

, Xyvision, Arbortext Advanced Print Publisher (formerly 3B2) and priint:suite. Generally, these layout applications have a corresponding server version, which receives commands via web interfaces rather than desktop interaction. QuarkXPress Server and Adobe InDesign Server both take full advantage of the design features available in their respective desktop versions. These applications make their broad spectrum of features available for extension and integration with vertical products, that can be developed either internally, through some form of scripting (e.g.

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

AppleScript AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. that facilitates automated control of Mac applications. First introduced in System 7, it is currently included in macOS in a package of automation tools. The term ''AppleScript'' may ...

for InDesign), or externally, through some

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

and corresponding developer kits. Other variants of database publishing are the rendering of content for direct PDF output. This approach prevents manual intervention on the final output, since PDF is not (comfortably) editable. This may not be perceived as a limitation in situations like report generation where manual editability is not needed or not desired.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Database Publishing Reporting software Direct marketing Publishing Workflow technology Databases

See also

References