DocBook Version 5.1b2 and DocBook-XSL Version 1.76.0 released

On 27th August 2010 DocBook version 5.1b2 and DocBook-XSL version 1.76.0 was released. DocBook V5.1b2 is the second test release of DocBook V5.1. Version 5.1b2 is available in RELAX NG and non-normatively in DTD and W3C XML Schema formats.

Summary of Changes in DocBook V5.1
The largest change is the introduction of support for topic-based authoring through the addition of the topic element and the assembly structure. For more information about assemblies, see DocBook Assemblies.

DocBook V5.1 also addresses the following requests for enhancement:

• RFE 1679665 Add better support for modular documentation
• RFE 1722935 Add a proofreader value to the class attribute for othercredit
• RFE 1770787 Add givenname as an alternative for firstname
• RFE 1899655 Allow more elements to be the root of a DocBook document
• RFE 2100736 Allow constant in initializer
• RFE 2791288 Added several additional elements, including quote, to the ubiquitous inlines
• RFE 2820190 Add a topic element
• RFE 2821653 Remove the constraint that indexterm elements must not appear in footnotes
• RFE 2907124 Allow personal name components directly in bibliomset.
• RFE 2907125 Allow all inlines in remark
• RFE 2907131 Allow simplesect in colophon
• RFE 2964576 Fix the bug that allowed table to appear inside entry

Element References can be found at DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide - Element Reference

DocBook-XSL Release Notes: 1.76.0

This release includes important bug fixes and adds the following significant feature changes:

• Gentext: Many updates and additions to translation/locales thanks to Red Hat, the Fedora Project, and other contributors.
• Common: Faster localization support, as language files are loaded on demand.
• FO: Support for SVG content in imagedata added.
• HTML: Output improved when using 'make.clean.html' and a stock CSS file is now provided.
• EPUB: A number of improvements to NCX, cover and image selection, and XHTML 1.1 element choices