Architectural issue: component specifications (was More on xlink- 23)

SSL writes:

>XLink's interesting and occasionally useful, but I hardly think it's
>worth inflicting on every XML spec that happens to need hypertext
>linking.

There's an architectural issue in there:

Increasingly, the W3C produces 'component' specifications that have no
application in and of themselves, but rather serve as building blocks for
other specifications. XLink and XForms are examples, as are XPath, XInclude,
and XML Base.

The architectural issue is the nature of constraints placed on broader
"containing specs" that might benefit from using the component specs.
Desirable or to be avoided? For the XForms and XLink topic under discussion,
this cuts both ways.

Thanks,

.micah