Re: comments on WD-html-in-xml-19990304

On Sat, 6 Mar 1999, Dan wrote:

> Requiring only lower case is just for lazy programmers. You
> cannot expect humans to use either lower or upper case. So
> prefer upper, some prefer lower. And when editing html, xhtml or
> xml you cannot expect people to use the same case (or even onle
> one case within a word) as the text being edited.
> 
> This is also a major failure of XML (REC-xml-19980210).

XML is based upon Unicode, and there are serious problems in
defining case when you take into account all of the writing systems
in use across the world. The XML working group felt that the
complexity involved would make it inappropriate to require support
in all implementations. The natural consequence was a decision to
make tags and attributes sensitive to case.

If you are editing XML by hand it is easy to violate
well-formedness. (You can see this from the HTML on the Web).
As a result, it makes a lot of sense to use a tool that will
help to ensure that you haven't inadvertently slipped up.
Such a tool can make the task of getting the case right into
trivial operation. See HTML Tidy for example of such a tool.

Regards,

-- Dave Raggett <dsr@w3.org> http://www.w3.org/People/Raggett
phone: +44 122 578 2984 (or 2521) +44 385 320 444 (gsm mobile)
World Wide Web Consortium (on assignment from HP Labs)

Received on Monday, 8 March 1999 09:41:12 UTC