RE: Fragmentation of document formats on the Web

Re limiting the document formats on the web:

1.  XML itself is an application metalanguage.  There 
is little interest in limiting language development 
in that community.   Even here, alternatives to 
XML itself are likely to emerge.

2.  Languages that are of most concern in fragmentation 
are the presentation/interaction classes, HTML, XHTML, 
SVG, X3D, and so on.  There should be little interest 
in limiting the data languages except insofar as a 
given community of interest sees fit.  Limits in the 
presentation languages likely will begin to occur 
although even the list you provided would be too 
small as it makes no provision for 3D.  So knowing 
where to stop here is harder than it first appears. 
Innovative use of real time 3D and product data 
has great potential and has already been realized 
in non-web projects, so you are putting the web 
into the position of becoming a late-adopter 
market.

3.  It is likely politically impossible to limit 
language development.  There is no authority with 
that power.  Even in CALS with the Department of 
Defense attempting to set such limits for the 
Tri-services, this failed miserably.

4.  Profiles are not only created to enable 
device compatibility; they are the means to 
enable extensibility for directed evolution.

Limits on this will have to come from the market 
if such limits are ever to be established.  A 
force that might begin to limit this will be 
requiring conformance testing and test marks. 
This encourages the market to choose higher 
quality languages in accordance with fit, 
form and function of a procurement.

Received on Thursday, 13 May 2004 15:07:10 UTC