Re: those predeclared entity refs

Peter Murray-Rist Wrote:
> [...] I'd prefer not to have to edit all my old files to add
> ENTITY at the start.

I don't want to disagree with anything else in Peter's note, but I
*do* want to warn us all against using any arguments based on
"old XML files".  The spec isn't due to be published until November,
and officially there will be no XML files in the world until XML 1.0
is published.

It's important that we not avoid improving XML at this stage because
some of us have XML files that will need changing.  There will be
millions of XML files (we hope) within a year, so now is the time for
improvements and "gratuitous" changes, not later!

Of course, having some stability does help implementations.
Some XML software I wrote a while ago internally is now legal again
for the first time in I think 6 months or so, as it doesn't use the
XML header :-)  I'm neither pleased nor upset about my files, though --
and I was quite prepared to change my software the next time I
revised it.  No-one else is using that part yet.

We must all be prepared to accept that the language is evolving
right now.

Sorry, that's a longer message perhaps than was needed, but I think
it's very important.

Lee

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Received on Wednesday, 26 March 1997 17:32:16 UTC