Re: What to do given both SYSTEM and PUBLIC?

Paul Grosso wrote:

| I can say that your characterization of my position is inaccurate.
| For external identifiers in which both a PUBLIC and SYSTEM id are
| given, I suggest that the application first attempt to resolve the
| PUBLIC id.  In the event that this resolution fails, I would want
| the SYSTEM id to be tried, though the XML catalog proposal does not
| require this behavior.  We could explicitly recommend this behavior
| in the proposal if we wish.

sorry for misunderstanding -- the clarification is helpful.

If we require this behaviour, it is nonsensical unless we specify exactly how
that resolution is to happen -- you can't require an unspecified action!
(e.g. how are you going to test conformance?)

So I strongly agree with Michael on that one.

And to do that, we have to supply a mechanism by which CATALOG can be fetched
when XML is used over the Web.  The same mechanism should work when a
local XML file is used (as is true for Panorama) so you don't have to
edit system ids or catalog files.

Any proposal (e.g. as per Ken's mail) that involves users editing CATALOG
files is assuming SGML levels of sophistication in users.  I know that
Panorama users don't download catalog files and edit them when there
are problems -- or most don't.  I don't suppose XML users will, and XML is
supposed to be easier than SGML.

So I think "We could explicitly recommend this behavior
| in the proposal if we wish" is like saying "we could explicitly recommend
that < and > be used around element names in tags, but if you prefer you
can use some other method, whith no way to signal this in the file, and
by prior arrangement with the recipient arrasnge for interoperability".

I.e. it won't work.

Lee

Received on Monday, 17 February 1997 13:25:17 UTC