Re: CSS Namespaces: Need multiple namespaces!

On Thu, 30 Sep 1999, Chris Lilley wrote:

>> When|If Schemas are pointed to by namespace URIs (as suggested in
>> various packaging ideas recently), then namespaces will fill
>> basically the same role as PUBLIC/SYSTEM FPIs/DTDs, and so n (where
>> here n=3) namespaces will become a necessity.
> So in each DTD/XSchema that uses a given vocabulary set, it has a
> different namespace identifier, then there is no ability to
> recognise different namespaces.

Sorry, I don't follow that.


> So you have made namespace declarations be an exact analogue of
> doctype declarations, which already exist, and removed the ability
> to identify which vocabularies are being combined in a given
> document.

No.

The problem with DOCTYPEs is that they can only appear once in a
document. The ability of identifying which vocabularies are used in a
document is done by the xmlns attribute(s), which can appear as often
as required. The content of these attributes is an arbitrary unique
string. This string uniquely identifies a namespace. Each namespace
can have a Schema (just like each FPI has a DTD).

So just like the <!DOCTYPE> points to the DTD, it makes sense for the
xmlns= to point to the Schema.

No?

If this is not the case, then what _is_ the difference between
namespace declarations and doctypes?

(Note -- I make two assumptions which may be flawed: 1. Schemas are
basically souped up DTDs, and 2. each namespace will only have one
Schema. Are these assumptions correct?)

-- 
Ian Hickson
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Received on Thursday, 30 September 1999 18:26:51 UTC