Re: XML 1.1 comments

For Paul Grosso 

> So that we can track all these issues, I've been tasked
> to ask you to be sure to send all XML 1.1 issues to the
> blueberry comments list [2].

> We do plan to include all your issues in our discussions,
> and we are currently consulting with I18N and others for
> more input on the issues you are raising.

Thanks for that Paul. However, when I then raised the issue of robustness
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-xml-blueberry-comments/2002Feb/0075.html
it never made it into the comments list, either. Similarly, the text/html
issue is still not on the Core WG's comments list, after two months.

Robustness, just like normalization, is something that ASCII and (to some extent) 
ISO 8859-1 developers have the luxury of ignoring.  But the fact that
normalization and checking for corrupt encoding is not a part of the
experience and culture of most, presumably, of the programmers on the
Core WG cannot be a reason to assume it is not important. 

In the case of normalization, the Core WG should be aware that there
is a Thai industrial standard for normalizing Thai combining character
sequences into good order, for example. It is a basic requirement
for computing there, I was told many years ago. (Presumably
James Clark would have better contact with the current status.)

Indeed, it is because encoding-error-detection and normalization surprize 
and perplex inexperienced programmers that they need to be put into the 
core standards, so that developers using XML can be shielded from 
having to do it themselves: the appalling and slow internationalization of open
sourced software shows that when left to themselves, developers 
are extremely averse to venturing beyond their competence. That is
prudent for a developer; however prudence for a standards-maker is to
err on the side of outside expertise when dealing with matters
beyond their particular experience.

The good level of internationalization of XML is frequently, and almost
constantly mentioned as one of the reasons why bodies select XML,
as inumerable web pages can attest. 

Cheers
Rick Jelliffe

Received on Saturday, 13 April 2002 00:28:27 UTC