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Re: Fixed base

From: John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 13:54:31 -0400
Message-ID: <394FAFD7.63BD97B@reutershealth.com>
To: James Clark <jjc@JCLARK.COM>
CC: xml-uri@w3.org
James Clark wrote:
 
> I've been quite surprised to find that this debate has actually
> changed my views.  I now believe the right solution is to absolutize
> namespace names relative to a fixed base URI of something like
> "contextdependent:/" and then perform a character-for-character
> comparison (I'll call this solution "fixed base" for short). 

Sounds good to me.

> It also opens the way to a further simplification. An element with no
> namespace name can be treated as having a namespace name of
> "contextdependent:/".  This makes the behaviour of xmlns="" not be an
> ugly special exception, but just a consequence on the normal rules on
> resolving relative URIs.

Unfortunately, an empty URI reference is already a special case, meaning
"this very document in which the URI reference appears".  So this
"further simplification" won't work.

-- 

Schlingt dreifach einen Kreis um dies! || John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com>
Schliesst euer Aug vor heiliger Schau,  || http://www.reutershealth.com
Denn er genoss vom Honig-Tau,           || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
Und trank die Milch vom Paradies.            -- Coleridge (tr. Politzer)
Received on Tuesday, 20 June 2000 13:54:58 GMT

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