- From: Martin Bryan <mtbryan@sgml.u-net.com>
- Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 08:51:46 +0100
- To: dgd@cs.bu.edu (David G. Durand), w3c-sgml-wg@w3.org
At 16:01 18/6/97 -0500, David G. Durand wrote: >I don't want to be defending colons a decade from now with the words "It >seemed like a good idea at the time". If we're not sure what we're doing, >we should wait. XML is plenty useful already, so let's not take any hasty >decisions at the last minute. David has a good point. A colon in the Layman proposal does not define a "namespace"; it simply delimits a set of names within a single "XML element name space" that have similar origins. Unless you have a mechanism that clearly says "this GI name qualifier" is associated with the semantics defined at URL.... it has no meaning. Calling it a namespace is wrong. When SGML includes a properly scoped/nested version of namespaces within formal DTDs (later this year hopefully) we will sincerly regret XML's poaching of the word namespace to mean simply "a set of names that begins with the same name qualifier". ---- Martin Bryan, 29 Oldbury Orchard, Churchdown, Glos. GL3 2PU, UK Phone/Fax: +44 1452 714029 E-mail: mtbryan@sgml.u-net.com For details about The SGML Centre contact http://www.sgml.u-net.com/ For details about the Open Information Interchange initiative contact http://www.echo.lu/oii/home.html
Received on Thursday, 19 June 1997 03:53:21 UTC