Notation System IDs

I mentioned this in my laundry list, but CMSMcQ thought it worth
bringing up separately.

<quote>
Clause 4.6: I *strongly* feel that MIME types should be allowed for
notation system IDs.  Unless someone can send me a URL for a GIF
processor that will work immediately on any OS.  Change %ExternalID in
production [73] to %NotExtId, which in turn is:
   [73a] NotExtId :: = 'SYSTEM' S (MimeType | SystemLiteral)
</quote>

In more detail, I've always thought that the identifiers for notations
were a little weird.  In a fixed environment, it's fine to put, say,
"xv" as the system identifier for GIF.  But in a language defined
primarily to enable Internet transfer, this makes NO sense.  URLs are
great because they work (or don't) everywhere on the 'net.  But URLs
for notations point to - what?  A specification of the notation?
That's useful, and good luck finding a URL describing the binary
structure of proprietary formats.  A MIME type, registered or
unregistered, seems much more appropriate for Internet use for
notations.

What do other folks think?

-Chris
-- 
Christopher R. Maden                  One Richmond Square
DynaText SIT Technical Support        Providence, RI 02906 USA
Inso Corporation                      +1.401.421.9550 (voice)
Electronic Publishing Solutions       +1.401.521.2030 (facsimile)

Received on Friday, 4 April 1997 13:26:57 UTC