EBNF is not mentioned until Section 6

Dear XML editor,

Below is a comment on the Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Second
Edition). I hope this is useful.


Sincerely,

Mike McCaleb




Problem: The specification uses EBNF throughout the document. However, EBNF
is not mentioned or discussed until Section 6. Additionally, the
specification does not state the purpose of the number (or number with a
terminating letter) preceding each grammar rule.

Proposed Solution 1: Add a section to the Introduction that explains that
the grammar rules for the specification are written in EBNF and reference
Section 6. Additionally, the purpose of the identifier in front of each
grammar rule could be explained in this section. For example,

       1.3 Formal Grammar

       The formal grammar for this specification is written in
       Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF) notation. For a description
       of EBNF, see Section 6, Notation.

       For reference purposes, each grammar rule that makes up this
       specification is preceded by a rule identifier (usually an
       integer) that uniquely identifies the rule within this
       specification.

       Note:

       No significance should be inferred from the values of the rule
       identifier.


Proposed Solution 2: Reorder the sections so that the Notation section
(currently section 6) immediately follows the Introduction (currently
section 1). Additionally, an explanation of the rule identifiers could be
added to the Notation section.

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Dear XML editor,
<p>Below is a comment on the Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0
(Second Edition). I hope this is useful.
<br>&nbsp;
<p>Sincerely,
<p>Mike McCaleb
<br>&nbsp;
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<br><b>Problem:</b> The specification uses EBNF throughout the document.
However, EBNF is not mentioned or discussed until Section 6. Additionally,
the specification does not state the purpose of the number (or number with a
terminating letter) preceding each grammar rule.
<p><b>Proposed Solution 1:</b> Add a section to the Introduction that explains
that the grammar rules for the specification are written in EBNF and reference
Section 6. Additionally, the purpose of the identifier in front of each
grammar rule could be explained in this section. For example,
<blockquote><b>1.3 Formal Grammar</b>
<p>The formal grammar for this specification is written in Extended Backus-Naur
Form (EBNF) notation. For a description of EBNF, see Section 6, Notation.
<p>For reference purposes, each grammar rule that makes up this specification
is preceded by a rule identifier (usually an integer) that uniquely identifies
the rule within this specification.
<p><b>Note:</b>
<p>No significance should be inferred from the values of the rule
identifier.</blockquote>

<p><br><b>Proposed Solution 2: </b>Reorder the sections so that the Notation
section (currently section 6) immediately follows the Introduction (currently
section 1). Additionally, an explanation of the rule identifiers could
be added to the Notation section.
<p>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
</body>
</html>

Received on Wednesday, 29 November 2000 14:35:10 UTC