[CURIEs] Examples violate syntax?

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I have some trouble understanding the BNF and the examples.

1) The term *IRI* in the BNF resolves to a (non-normative!) reference
   to the IRI spec, in which the relevant production is:

  IRI            = scheme ":" ihier-part [ "?" iquery ]
                         [ "#" ifragment ]

   This is clearly incompatible with virtually all the examples you
   give.  I _guess_ what you want is the *irelative-ref* production,
   but I'm not sure. . .  I'll assume that from now on.

2) I can't make sense of the example

   google:xforms or 'xml forms'

   What is the CURIE here?  "xforms or 'xml forms'" is _not_ an *IRI*,
   nor is it an *irelative-ref*, as I read the IRI ABNF. . .

   And even if you convince me that it _is_ a CURIE, this suggests
   that users of CURIEs in non-XML languages will have a _very_
   difficult time determining their boundaries. . .

3) I don't understand how the second set of examples are valid per
   your BNF either.  The BNF only allows ':' when it's preceded by a
   *prefix*, and a *prefix* is an *NCName*, and an *NCName* can't be
   empty. . . (BTW, your reference to Namespaces in XML is also
   normative, and should be presented as such, and should I think also
   be updated at least to the 2nd edition [1], and preferably to the
   2nd edition of v1.1 [2])

I also suggest that using copyright material (e.g. [3]) for your
examples is needlessly risky -- yes, maybe the quote is short enough
to qualify as 'fair use', but why bother with the hassle -- I strongly
suggest you make up your examples. . .

ht

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/REC-xml-names-20060816
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/REC-xml-names11-20060816
[3]
http://www.forbes.com/facesinthenews/2005/10/19/ballmer-microsoft-aol-cx_cn_1019autofacescan01.html
- -- 
 Henry S. Thompson, HCRC Language Technology Group, University of Edinburgh
                     Half-time member of W3C Team
    2 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh EH8 9LW, SCOTLAND -- (44) 131 650-4440
            Fax: (44) 131 650-4587, e-mail: ht@inf.ed.ac.uk
                   URL: http://www.ltg.ed.ac.uk/~ht/
[mail really from me _always_ has this .sig -- mail without it is forged spam]
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Received on Tuesday, 23 January 2007 14:53:29 UTC