Re: C.10 Allow nondeterministic content models?

At 11:46 AM 18/10/96 -0700, Joe English wrote:
>
>In fact,
>the ambiguity rule can make things *easier* for implementors.)

Say what?  The algorithms necessary to detect ambiguity are not typically
within the repertoire of the hypothetical CS bachelor's-degree type that
we'd like to be able to construct a validating parser.  Furthermore, with
the parser generators that I have to hand, in no case does an ambiguous
content model complicate the task.  Furthermore, since we've lost the
tag miminization that opens the trap that I have been told the ambiguity
exclusion exists to patch, I can't imagine why an XML parser author would
*want* thus to constrain DTD authors, aside from a desire to comply with
a non-useful clause in a standard that is there only to ensure compliance 
with another standard, which in any case is likely to be amended soon to 
remove this problem.

If it's not obvious, I am deeply unhappy with the prospect of the
restriction on so-called "ambiguous" grammars making it into XML.


Cheers, Tim Bray
tbray@textuality.com http://www.textuality.com/ +1-604-488-1167

Received on Saturday, 19 October 1996 11:23:42 UTC