RE: Action item on syntax-based interoperability

Interesting, so you are basically arguing against things like the HTML and XML DOM? How will this be rationalized by the W3C? 

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From: www-tag-request@w3.org on behalf of Tim Bray
Sent: Tue 10/21/2003 6:26 PM
To: www-tag@w3.org
Subject: Action item on syntax-based interoperability




Here it is:

The Web is distinguished from many other information systems in that
its important interfaces are defined, not in terms of APIs or data
structures or object models, but in terms of syntax, by specifying the
content and sequence of the messages interchanged.  It commonly occurs
that programmers working with the Web write code directly to generate
and parse these messages.  Even more unusually,  it is not uncommon for
end-users to have direct exposure to these messages.  This leads to the
well-known "view source" effect, whereby users gain expertise in the
workings of the systems by direct exposure to the underlying protocols.

The general success of Web software is evidence that interoperability
in networked information systems is best achieved by specifying
interfaces at the level of concrete syntax rather than abstract data
models or APIs.


Cheers, Tim Bray  http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/

Received on Wednesday, 22 October 2003 15:21:32 UTC