Re: My position on Web Forms 2.0 and the future of XForms

Doug Schepers wrote:
> I neither agree nor disagree with your prognostication on the subject. 
> I was merely trying to put the facts on the table, rather than 
> inferences.  You stated your belief that "Microsoft has stated that they 
> won't be adding support for XHTML to Internet Explorer" and I pointed 
> out that this does not seem to be the case.

   I probably got that impression from their position paper at the W3C
Workshop on Web Applications and Compound Documents [1], combined with
their clear statements that they won't support XHTML in IE7.

> I am not claiming they 
> will; I am claiming they did not (as far as I can find) state an intent 
> not to support XHTML in some future release, and in fact have shown 
> inclination to the contrary, although it would take significant work on 
> their part.

   Specific Microsoft employees have stated that they want XHTML
support, but we certainly can't make decisions regarding standards based
on the blind hope that Microsoft will support them. Put yourself in my
shoes with the following scenario:

   Suppose I were saying that your position regarding XForms might be
flawed because the EVE Online web browser might support XHTML in a
version following the release of EVE Online II. I can't tell you what
release XHTML support will be in, or even if a future release will
support it at all, but I can say that it greatly impacts the
practicality of your ideas regarding XForms.

   Doesn't the above sound--er--unconvincing? Now realize that the only
real difference between the two scenarios is marketshare.

Received on Friday, 8 September 2006 02:50:36 UTC