Re: B.10 Empty elements?

On Sat, 12 Oct 96 15:09:33 CDT, Michael Sperberg-McQueen
<U35395@UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU> wrote:

>On 16 October 1996, the ERB will vote to decide the following question.
>A straw poll indicates the question needs further discussion in the work
>group.
>
>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)?
>

<e></e>

because:
1. It represents what appears in the ESIS.
2. It makes it obvious to the reader that the element is empty and that it has
ended.
3. It is the same treatment for all elements -- another contributor to
simplicity.

For conformance, the XML DTD will need to declare "e" as:
<!element e (xml.empty.element.type?)>
instead of:
<!element e empty>
--
Charles F. Goldfarb * Information Management Consulting * +1(408)867-5553
           13075 Paramount Drive * Saratoga CA 95070 * USA
  International Standards Editor * ISO 8879 SGML * ISO/IEC 10744 HyTime
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--

Received on Monday, 14 October 1996 18:42:01 UTC