DocBook is not what I'm looking for. It uses SGML markup, and that's just as "bad", if not moreso, than writing in HTML. I don't see any provisions for generating the master tables and index and such, too.

However, I'm wondering if a two-stage approach might work. I can write a simple Perl tool to take an easily-typed markup and convert to formal XML, and that's all it does. I can bang on that to extend when needed, as I need more features. Anything that doesn't fit the mold can be written directly in XML.

Then, another tool reads the XML document and produces the set of HTML pages, including the index and stuff.

—John