Re: Transclusion

On Tue, 29 Oct 1996 17:11:03 -0500, gtn@ebt.com (Gavin Nicol) wrote:

>>So I agree with Charles, namely that we're better off with ENTITY attributes
>>-- but I don't think the reasons have much to do with 8879 conformance.
>
>Well, the point I was trying to make is that if we have synchronous
>entities, there is nothing *stopping* the parser from performing the
>nice optimisation of fetching the entity, and parsing it, only
>when needed. 

I don't see any problem with this, as long as the external SGML text entity
doesn't change the parsing state. As David pointed out, the standard doesn't
address timing, just context. The external SGML text entity would have to be
parsed as though it occurred as a replacement for the entity reference. The text
following the entity reference has to be parsed as if it followed the
replacement text. The challenge will be to define (and enforce?) the
restrictions on a non-state-changing external entity.

On the other hand, there is no reason why a smart parser can't do anticipatory
fetching and parsing of entities invoked by an attribute value, just as easily.
In fact, it should be easier, as such entities establish their own parsing
context.
--
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
 Prentice-Hall Series Editor * CFG Series on Open Information Management
--

Received on Tuesday, 29 October 1996 20:01:07 UTC