- From: David Durand <dgd@cs.bu.edu>
- Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 16:33:18 -0500
- To: w3c-sgml-wg@w3.org
At 5:42 PM 2/11/97, len bullard wrote: >Steven J. DeRose wrote: >> >> I find that tempting, but a bit too strong. There are at least a few cases >> where the destination depends on other factors, such as implicit links, >> links that depend on user configuration or environment data, etc. Take a >> look at any IETM, or any expert-system-assisted maintenance manual, or >> anything that supports stretchtext. Well, much as I hate to disagree with steve, I think we should either not accomodate such needs, or hedge them with restrictions if we do accomodate them. We should not allow turing-complete languages for determining link destinations. I won't repeat the arguments, but it is clear that web-analysis software is a growth industry. We should make it easier, not harder. Computable links make it harder, and are pretty _unnecessary_ on the web, as far as I've seen. >Right. Depends on the application. The problem of XML link >(and every dammed hypertext standard anyone has tried to >create to date) is that we can't put a hotspot/clink/meatball >(you choose) in running text, expect it to act as a control, >look like a bold font, and pretend to be "just another declaration". Yes. All of those properties should be separately specified, not encoded in the document. > >Action="gosub" is "pernicious" but action="submit" is somehow Ok? They're both pernicious -- but we have to live with microbes and viruses as well as macro-fauna... >Picking victims again aren't we? One can declare a process, or process >a declaration. SGML doesn't care. XML shouldn't either. Yes, but SGML provides no _special_ facilities for processing. This was the point, and I've yet to see any pratical or theoretical reason to abondon this for linking when we agree that it is a good idea for other presentation features. -- David _________________________________________ David Durand dgd@cs.bu.edu \ david@dynamicDiagrams.com Boston University Computer Science \ Sr. Analyst http://www.cs.bu.edu/students/grads/dgd/ \ Dynamic Diagrams --------------------------------------------\ http://dynamicDiagrams.com/ MAPA: mapping for the WWW \__________________________
Received on Monday, 17 February 1997 03:22:58 UTC