- From: Jim Davis <jrd3@alum.mit.edu>
- Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 09:23:27 -0800
- To: www-ql@w3.org
At 02:42 PM 2/27/01 -0500, Michael Kifer wrote: >Jeff Chapman <Jeff.Chapman@pervasive.com> writes: > >.. I > > would like to be able to build XML-based logic that can dissect and > assemble > > XQuery expressions using normal XML tools/logic... > >If you want to construct queries on the fly, then the extraneous XML tags >which you have to (gratuitously) insert are an obstacle, not help. >People have been creating SQL queries on the fly easily for years (not that >SQL is a good language, but it would look even worse, if expressed in XML :-). Michael, I might be willing to concede that the XML syntax does not help much in construction of queries (string appending is easy), and I might even consider it a hindrance (albeit minor), but parsing XML queries is undoubtedly made more difficult by the non-XML syntax. Moreover, requirement 3.2.1 says "One query language syntax MUST be expressed in XML in a way that reflects the underlying structure of the query. " This requirement seems to me to be unmet by the syntax as proposed. For that matter, I would take issue with the first part of 3.2.1, that says "One query language syntax MUST be convenient for humans to read and write". In my experience in digital library systems, humans do not typically construct query expressions directly by typing, rather they use a GUI, and some automated system constructs the query. But perhaps I should address that point in a different forum?
Received on Wednesday, 28 February 2001 12:24:05 UTC