Yodl stands for `Yet oneOther Document Language' and is basically a pre-processor to convert document files in a special macro language (the Yodl language) to any output format. The Yodl language is not a `final' language, in the sense that it can be viewed or printed directly. Rather, a document in the Yodl language is a `pre-document', that is converted with some macro package to an output format, to be further processed. In this, Yodl somewhat resembles SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) but is designed to be more transparent and easier to use. I wrote Yodl because I needed a good document preprocessor to convert output to either LaTeX (for printing) or to HTML (HyperText Markup Language, used in WWW documents) for publishing via a WWW site. Although SGML does this too, I wanted something that is used `intuitively' and with greater ease. This is reflected in the syntax of the Yodl language, in the available macros of the Yodl macro package, and very probably also in other aspects of Yodl. However, Yodl is designed to convert to any output format; so it is possible to write a macro package that converts Yodl documents to, say, the man format for manual pages. I am not very familiar with the man format, but I've put some work into this too; resulting in the `manpage' document type and its converter. A few highlights of Yodl are: This document first describes Yodl from the point of the user: how can macros be defined, how is the program used etc.. Next, my own macro package is presented and the macros therein described. Finally, this document holds technical information about the installation and the inner workings of Yodl.
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Copyright (c) 1997, 1998, 1999 Karel Kubat and Jan Nieuwenhuizen.

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