I've been using docbook for a while now. I don't (often) use it as intended for technical markup of manuals etc, but I do use it for most of my writing. The result? I have docbook documents all over my disk, the end result is a mess insofar as the references are all local necessitating multiple copies of the docbook graphics, document specific graphics, included files etc. .

Having annoyed myself for long enough, I'm now going to work out a scheme whereby this is just a little easier. Along the way I'll try to explain a basic docbook setup that unravels some of the complexity that is seen in docbook. That complexity comes from its flexibility which I see as one of its main strengths. The docbook-apps mailing list membership have helped with this btw, for which thanks. Firstly, the component parts.

Assumptions: