The encoding of the guidelines, a technical description

These embody more than prose and encoding examples for direct examination by human readers. They also contain carefully encoded data strings that are picked up and used by core EpiDoc software tools. As a result, the Guidelines function as the lone source from which the various converting and formatting mechanisms developed by the EpiDoc community draw the settings that specify their behavior, in particular with regard to mappings between traditional sigla for epigraphic transcription and the TEI/XML encodings specified by EpiDoc. Self-test mechanisms for the Guidelines, designed and implemented by Hugh Cayless during the EpiDoc Sandstorm Development Sprint in London (March 2006), ensure that the behaviors of these tools remain reliably synchonized with each other, and with the encoding guidance and explanation the Guidelines provide to human readers.