Re: xml:rel, xml:href, xml:type

Here is my draft response to an xml-editor comment.

I'm particularly unsure of my paragraph about associating
a MIME type with a link/resource, and I'd appreciate any
comments on my draft response.

paul


-----------

Eventually to: "Rushforth, Peter" <Peter.Rushforth@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca>
Eventually cc: xml-editor@w3.org <xml-editor@w3.org>

On 2012-04-06 19:48, Rushforth, Peter wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I think I previously posted this to the wrong list - apologies.
>
>
> Has it ever been considered to include standardized "typed links" into the core xml specification, in a manner that is similar to xml:base and xml:lang? (ie. via the xml: namespace).
>
> If these attributes were available to xml authors, xml could be a hypertext language without schema designers having to reinvent the markup for this concept; such re-invention  hinders interoperability.
>
> I propose the associated attributes below in the xml namespace
>
> xml:href - a single URI value
>
> xml:rel - one or more space-separated tokens or URIs, which identify the relationships the targeted resource has to the current context.  The value of this element could be defined to be compatible with http linkinghttp://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5988
>
> xml:type - a single MIME media type, with a value compatible with
> http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2046.txt?number=2046
>
>
> This would allow XML representations the ability to contain "typed links", which is important for RESTful applications.
>
> If this idea is not stupid, how to go about proposing formally?
>
>
> Cheers,
> Peter Rushforth


Peter,

Thank you for your interest in XML.

The XML specification defines a mostly semantic-agnostic markup
technology that is relatively easy to parse and upon which many
higher level semantics can be built.

Hypertext linking outside of the document is not something which
needs action at the parser level, so it doesn't need to be specified
in the core XML specification.

The existing XLink Recommendation [1] already defines namespaced
markup for hypertext linking that would appear to address your
requirements.  In fact, XLink defines an xlink:href attribute
that appears to parallel your suggested xml:href attribute.

Note that the xlink:type attribute is not parallel to your
suggested xml:type.  In fact, I don't see why a link should
have a MIME media type associated with it, since the URI in
the xlink:href attribute points to a resource, and the resource
determines the media type.

Also note that the XLink specification allows the definition of
more complex linking relationships, though those extended features
need not be used for simpler links.

paul

Paul Grosso
for the XML Core WG


[1]http://www.w3.org/TR/xlink11/

Received on Wednesday, 2 May 2012 15:56:09 UTC