Re: minimal requirements for Arch document

Michael Kifer wrote:
> 
> [...]  We should strive to define extensions that are orthogonal
> as much as possible, and when they are not we should indicate that.
> 
> A while ago I sent around a picture that contained the various extensions.

Such a picture will probably be helpful in helping understand how 
various future extensions/dialects relate.

But it should not be interpreted as an a priori roadmap for the 
development of RIF dialects/extensions, right? Not too strictly, at 
least: once we will have defined the core(s), the development of new 
dialects and/or extensions should be driven by users requirements much 
more than theory, in my opinion (that's not incompatible with the 
picture: only with the idea that such an a priori picture defines 
somehow the list of extensions/dialects that will be developed).

> We should advise/encourage to make the presentation syntaxes compatible as
> well, but it should not be a requirement, I agree. This is because the
> usual presentation syntaxes do not have as many tricks in their hat as XML
> does.

The presentation syntax depends on the culture and habits of the user 
community for each dialect, and this can differ quite a lot from a 
dialect to another. I think that the advice should be to make the 
presentation syntax as familiar to the intended audience as possible 
(and the XML syntax as standard as possible).

Christian

Received on Tuesday, 16 October 2007 16:08:07 UTC