Re: KISS (was: Parameter entity references in WF docs)

Joe English wrote:
> 
> The main drawback is that this process has to work off
> the parsed DTD (prlgabs0), so there are no parameter entities
> or PE references in the output.   Some may see this as a
> benefit rather than a drawback :-), but it can make the
> output DTD a *whole* lot larger and much less readable.
> You also lose comments and comment declarations.

Depends on the DTD you are converting.  Yes, some DTDs will 
become very large.  I think that expresses well the perceptions 
of the original designer of the information or the DTD of 
the size of the content domain they are trying to describe.
It may be that spawning new doctypes is a better encapsulation.

As to less readable, again, for the sake of scanning, I guess. 
However, for the sake of understanding how many potential 
productions have been made possible with each element type, 
they are very clear.  PEs often give the illusion of structure 
when in effect, all they express is convenient adjacency.

len

Received on Tuesday, 3 June 1997 23:36:30 UTC