- From: David G. Durand <dgd@cs.bu.edu>
- Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 13:11:29 -0400
- To: w3c-sgml-wg@w3.org
At 9:20 AM 10/9/96, Bill Smith wrote: >David Durand wrote: > >> If we drop the distinction, we must treat spaces and tabs as data elements >> in element content (like tables) because without a DTD we can't tell >> whether or not it is element content, and therefore "insignificant". Of >> course, I'd say that we should drop it, and accept the restrictions on >> whitespace, but the current leaning reflects the "code-formatting" needs >> you and others have advocated. > >I don't think David is suggesting requiring a DTD. I'm firmly opposed to >requiring a DTD, even a short form, to "properly" handle XML. If we cross the >DTD/DTDless line, I think we will significantly reduce the liklihood that XML >will be adopted. We should drop the distinction. Well, I am making the point that if we want nonsignificant whitespace in tables, we need the distinction _and_ a DTD. I agree that this is bad. If we keep the distinction, that means that we either need a DTD (bad) or we need to disallow "insignificant whitespace". This means that you can't put spaces, newlines, or tabs inside element content to pretty-print your code. I favor the prohibition. I was interpreting this level of SGML-compatibility as preserving the SGML distinction, but explicitly disallowing (in XML documents) something SGML allows. Of course, you are right that it really says that in XML there is no distinction, so my explanation (and thoughts) were muddy. Nuke it! -- David RE delenda est. _________________________________________ David Durand dgd@cs.bu.edu \ david@dynamicDiagrams.com Boston University Computer Science \ Sr. Analyst http://www.cs.bu.edu/students/grads/dgd/ \ Dynamic Diagrams --------------------------------------------\ http://dynamicDiagrams.com/ MAPA: mapping for the WWW \__________________________ http://www.dynamicdiagrams.com/services_map_main.html
Received on Wednesday, 9 October 1996 13:07:25 UTC