Publications and editorial content

Editorial systems live in a constant tension between:

• rich, narrative content (long text, sections, context),
• structure (chapters, metadata, relationships),
• and data (status, dates, authors, tags).

What we mean by “publications”

In this context, “publication” includes:

• Articles and long posts.
• Books and chapters.
• Technical documentation.
• Public reports.
• Whitepapers.
• Corporate or technical blogs.

Common problems in editorial workflows

In practice, repeated patterns appear:

• Markdown:

  • Flexible, but poor in semantics.
  • Ad-hoc metadata (YAML front-matter).
  • Hard to validate structure.

• Traditional CMS:

  • Rigid models.
  • Editing coupled to a specific tool.
  • Difficult to version in Git.

• Editorial XML:

  • Very powerful.
  • Too verbose for manual editing.

STXT proposes another path:

• A single format for text, structure, and data.
• Clear separation between content and rules.
• Editing with any text editor.

Example 1 — Technical article

Article with metadata, sections, and long text.

Article (@com.acme.editorial.article):
	Title: Introduction to STXT
	Slug: introduction-to-stxt
	Authors:
		Author:
			Name: Joan Costa
			Role: Editor
	Published date: 2026-01-10
	Status: Draft
	Tags:
		Tag: stxt
		Tag: formats
		Tag: documentation

	Abstract >>
		STXT is a textual language designed to balance
		human readability and reliability for machines.

	Content >>
		## Why another format?

		Most existing formats force a choice:
		either they are comfortable for humans or they are reliable for machines.

		STXT tries to eliminate this dichotomy.

		## Principles

		- Human First
		- Minimal syntax
		- Optional validation
		- Security by design

Observations from the example

• Long text lives in >> blocks.
• The editorial structure (title, authors, status) is explicit.
• The content can contain Markdown without interfering with STXT.

Example 2 — Multi-section publication

Book or long document divided into sections.

Publication (@com.acme.editorial.publication):
	Title: STXT — The book
	ISBN: 978-1-23456-789-0
	Language: en
	Status: In Progress

	Chapters:
		Chapter:
			Number: 1
			Title: Introduction
			Content >>
				This chapter introduces the basic concepts of STXT.

		Chapter:
			Number: 2
			Title: Syntax
			Content >>
				This chapter describes the language syntax
				with practical examples.

		Chapter:
			Number: 3
			Title: Validation
			Content >>
				Templates and Schemas make it possible to add semantic rules.

Typical editorial workflow with STXT

A common workflow can be:

1. The author writes the STXT document.
2. It is versioned in Git.
3. A template validates minimal structure.
4. It is transformed to HTML, PDF, or other formats.
5. It is published.

Each step is independent and replaceable.

Validation with @stxt.template

An editorial template ensures consistency without imposing rigidity.

Template (@stxt.template): com.acme.editorial.article
	Description: Standard editorial article
	Structure >>
		Article:
			Title: (1)
			Slug: (1)
			Authors: (1)
				Author: (+)
					Name: (1)
					Role: (?)
			Published date: (?) DATE
			Status: (1) ENUM [Draft, Review, Published]
			Tags: (?)
				Tag: (+)

			Abstract: (?) TEXT
			Content: (1) TEXT

This template:

• Guarantees minimal metadata.
• Controls editorial status.
• Allows free text without artificial restrictions.

Content / presentation separation

With STXT:

• The document does not know HTML, CSS, or layout.
• Presentation is decided in a later phase.
• The same content can be rendered in multiple ways.

Examples:

• Web
• PDF
• EPUB
• Internal documentation

Practical advantages

• Comfortable authorship: write without fighting tags.
• Clean diffs: clear textual changes in version control.
• Lightweight validation: prevents incomplete articles.
• Automation: indexes, tables of contents, feeds.
• Longevity: content survives specific tools.

Editorial recommendations

• Use TEXT for body and long sections.
• Keep metadata concise and stable.
• Avoid coupling content to output formats.
• Use templates to guide, not to limit.

Summary

STXT is especially suitable for editorial publishing:

• Text remains text.
• Structure is explicit.
• Validation is optional.
• Content can evolve without changing format.