Re: 2.1 a-d: Link Recognition by Reserved Attribute?

At 4:45 PM -0500 2/21/97, Sam Hunting wrote:
><david>
>I do want to make XML, and XML linking stand on
>their own, without normative references to ISO standards.
></david>
>
><len>
>I'm not sure if that goal has any utility.  Whereas,
>gratuitous references are not useful, normative references
>establish a chain of authoritative information.  That
>does have utility.
></len>

On the internet, people scoff at the very thoguht of ISO standards because
they are not willing to pay to read them. If we want XML to be accepted we
must make the documents authoritative and self-standing. It is our job to
make XML SGML conforming (or not). It is an implementor's job to follow
what _We_ specify. We will not ease their task by making them read the ISO
documents.

That's the difference between an informative, and a normative citation. If
it is normative, we require thaqt they read both.

I think that this is socially, and politially unacceptable, and technically
unnecessary.

It is also implied by the goal of a 20page definition. If the definition is
20 pages,  and makes nromative reference to 8879, we have made things _more
complicated_ not _less complicated_.

If we add the HyTime standard, we have compounded this problem by at least
a factor of 2-3.

>
>David: If that is your goal, then what am I to make of Design Goal (3)
>"XML shall be compatibble with SGML"? What's more normative than "shall"?
>More ISO than SGML?

Compatible means compatible. I can define language A as a subset of
language B without making explicit reference to language B or its
definition documents, so long as the definitions themselves meet the
criterion.

    Clear enough now?

  -- David

I agree that we should cite all relevant ISO documents for those interested
in further background, or in need of features we are not providing that
those standards do provide. Endorsement by the ISO is a feature that is
variably rated by our target users.

_________________________________________
David Durand              dgd@cs.bu.edu  \  david@dynamicDiagrams.com
Boston University Computer Science        \  Sr. Analyst
http://www.cs.bu.edu/students/grads/dgd/   \  Dynamic Diagrams
--------------------------------------------\  http://dynamicDiagrams.com/
MAPA: mapping for the WWW                    \__________________________

Received on Saturday, 22 February 1997 14:17:48 UTC