Markup and Meaning
Articles on docs-as-code, structured authoring, and AI-assisted documentation by Olivier Carrère — a technical writer specialising in DITA XML, Markdown, and YAML. Practical writing on how structure, automation, and the right tools make documentation scale.
Latest
Why hand-maintained InDesign files rot - and what docs-as-code does instead
A 370-cell calendar that shifts every year. A lead's name in three places. An IBAN in an invisible text box. These are not unusual InDesign problems - they are what InDesign files become when they accumulate facts with no single home. Two projects show what the alternative looks like - and where InDesign's own global tools stop short.
Transforming a corpus of 7,000 pages into living knowledge
From a massive archive of 7,000 pages to daily insights, quote retrieval, and AI-powered thematic digests-this project turns static content into a living flow of clarity, focus, and well-being.
Transforming a corpus of 1,800 articles into an AI-powered discovery service
1,800 lecture transcripts - 1.8 million words once trapped in Word 97 files - converted to Markdown, scored and tagged by AI, and turned into a searchable discovery platform that also generates print-ready LaTeX anthologies.
More articles
- Less is more: from psychology to technical writing · 6 min
- Slow food for fast thinking: designing with cognitive ease in mind · 8 min
- Boost documentation efficiency: how YAML outperforms XML, Markdown, and databases · 10 min
- Distribute API reference from YAML across docs, and apps · 2 min
- An AI-based workflow to translate legacy content · 4 min
- Manage content in files, not databases · 6 min
- Strong information typing without the XML overhead · 4 min
- Turn Word files into SEO-optimized web pages: boost your content reach with AI · 5 min
- From DITA XML to Markdown: lightweight information typing · 2 min
- A web journey: from HTML to Git-based Markdown workflows · 4 min