Re: The furore over PUBLIC

At 23:49 28/03/97 -0800, you wrote:
>It's catechism time again.

Very pretty, have you been reading Myles na gCopaleen?

>Q: Are XML public identifiers interoperable for Web delivery?
>   No, they are not.
>Q: Why are XML public identifiers not interoperable?
>   Because there is no agreed-upon mechanism by which documents
>   identified with XML public identifiers can be delivered over the
>   Web.

Q:Why is there no agreed-on mechanism?

  Because this is the first time large-scale SGML has been tried on
  the net in this manner, so no-one's done it before. 

Q:Why do we need PUBLIC identifiers?

  To identify in a conformant manner the declarations of our documents.

Q:Do we need PUBLIC as the sole identifier?

  No, on the contrary, URLs as SYSTEM identifiers will do nicely 
  for interoperability, as shewn.

Solvuntur objectiones:

You miss the point: we're not (_I_'m not) asking for pubids as the
sole identifier. A URL will do handsomely for interoperable Web
delivery -- the prime objective -- but I cannot use URLs to 
identify the formal name of my DTD. 

Ergo enforce SYSTEM but permit PUBLIC, QED. End of debate.

///Peter

Received on Saturday, 29 March 1997 15:39:08 UTC