Re: Updated Working Draft "Best Practices for XML Internationalization"

On 6/30/07, Martin Duerst <duerst@it.aoyama.ac.jp> wrote:
>
> [first, with chair hat on: Mark and others, please try to reduce
> your quoted content.]
>
> At 03:45 07/07/01, Mark Davis wrote:
> >The title appears misleading. There are multiple ways to internationalize
> XML documents. Only a few of the practices are general; the thrust of the
> document appears to be using ITS to do so, so a more apt title would be
> >
> >>Best Practices for XML Internationalization
> >=>
> >Best Practices for XML Internationalization using ITS
>
> The document should definitely be general, not limited to ITS.
> So it's not the title that should be changed, but maybe some
> of the contents.
>
> Of course, there are several ways to internationalize documents,
> and this should be taken into account. However, ITS is a W3C
> Recommendation, so using lots of examples from ITS and listing
> ITS as the first choice, etc., seem to be appropriate.
>
>
> >> Include <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-lang-tag>xml:lang in your
> DTD or schema to allow to specify the natural language of the content
> >=>
> >Where necessary, include <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-lang-tag>xml:lang
> in your DTD or schema to allow to specify the natural language of the
> content.
> >
> >[why? because an XML document that just has locale-independent
> information like inventory counts of part numbers doesn't want to have this.
> Ditto below.]
>
> Agreed, but the wording should be different. "where necessary" doesn't
> say anything specific. I'd go for a wording more along the following
> lines:
>
> Include <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-lang-tag>xml:lang in your DTD
> or schema to allow to specify the natural language of the content for all
> elements that may contain natual language.


That really doesn't capture it. If your DTD doesn't have natural language
content, there is no need for xml:lang.

>> Make sure the <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-lang-tag>xml:lang
> attribute is available for the root element of your document, and for any
> element where a change of language may occur.
> >
> >=>
> >If you documents can contain text of different languages, make sure the <
> http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-lang-tag>xml:lang attribute is available
> for the root element of your document. If it can contain mixed languages,
> make sure it is available for any element where a change of language may
> occur.
>
> The "changed of language" may easily be misunderstood to have the
> markup mean 'from now on', rather than 'for this nested element'.
>
>
> >Same changes for other cases, like #2, #7,...
> >
> >>Best Practice 19: Use CDATA sections with caution
> >I'd like to see this be:
> >=> Best Practice 19: Avoid CDATA sections wherever possible
>
> I'd tend to agree here.
>
> Regards,    Martin.
>
>
>
> #-#-#  Martin J. Du"rst, Assoc. Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University
> #-#-#  http://www.sw.it.aoyama.ac.jp       mailto:duerst@it.aoyama.ac.jp
>
>


-- 
Mark