Re: pragmas outside the ixml spec - an invitation

I’m happy to incorporate an add-on into my implementation. I think offering some useful pragmas as an add-on to the core functionality could really help highlight ixml’s massive potential. It could also give us valuable insight into what users might want in v_next. If we as implementors can collaborate on a standard version of the extension, that’ll make it much easier for users, and mitigate the risk of lock-in. It’ll also set a kind of good-practice standard for any future implementors. 

One of my biggest bugbears with LaTeX is when a new package breaks some aspect of core functionality which, it turns out, some other package is relying on. It’s just ridiculously difficult to get the additional functionality I need without everything crashing down - but vanilla LaTeX doesn’t quite do the job. Honestly, if I didn’t have a pet LaTeX expert to help me fix these issues, I’d have given up on it ages ago (though the thought of returning to Word gives me hives). 

I would hate to see anything like that happening with ixml. We have the advantage of being a fairly small pool of implementors at the moment. If we can set good standards now for how add-ons interact with each other and with core ixml, I believe we’ll be doing future ixml users a massive favour.

BTW
___________________________________________________ 
Dr. Bethan Tovey-Walsh 
Myfyrwraig PhD | PhD Student CorCenCC 
Prifysgol Abertawe | Swansea University 
Croeso i chi ysgrifennu ataf yn y Gymraeg.

> On 7 Apr 2022, at 09:11, Norm Tovey-Walsh <norm@saxonica.com> wrote:
> 
>> This is to place on record that I think (b) is the preferable option,
>> and to invite any members of the CG who agree that (b) is preferable to
>> collaborate with me to refine the pragmas proposal as an extension
>> layered over standard ixml.
> 
> I have already implemented the pragmas proposal, in anticipation that it
> would become part of the specification. I plan to make it available to
> users of my processor and am eager to cooperate with other implementors
> to assure that this add on has the widest possible interoperability.
> 
>> The CG has not been able to achieve consesus on such rules, so I
>> propose that we use the Balisage paper on the pragmas proposal to
>> sketch out a proposal.
> 
> Yes, absolutely. Using structured comments assures that pragmas are
> completely compatible with ixml; we should do everything we can to
> assure that pragmas are interoperable as well!
> 
>                                        Be seeing you,
>                                          norm
> 
> --
> Norm Tovey-Walsh
> Saxonica