Re: B.10 Empty elements?

> B.10 What form should EMPTY elements take, if there are EMPTY elements
> in XML:  <e>, <e/, or <e></e> (where '/' is assumed the NET string)
> (7.3, 11.2.3)?

Only one of these, <e></e>, can be parsed reliably without a DTD,
unles you are prepared to use lookahead to the end of the document or
untiul the next close tag of a container.

Two other possibilities:
(1) use a naming convention, e.g.
    <E.BR>

(1b) add something (e.g. @) as a name start character:
    <@BR>
    where all elements starting with @ are EMPTY, by convention.
    An amendment to SGML could allow <@ to be a delimiter to start
    a tag of an EMPTY element, and then the convention would become
    supported syntax.

Both of these are using syntax, but are using a kind of syntax for
which there is precedent.

I don't have strong feelings on these, but wanted to raise them since
they are both compatible with SGML as it stands today.

Lee

Received on Saturday, 12 October 1996 18:49:30 UTC