Re: binaryXML, marshalling, and and trust boundaries

Tim Bray wrote:
> So you are hypothesizing that there is a method for compressing 
> arbitrary XML that will do a good job on this particular application and 
> also span a broad-enough range of usefulness that it's cost-effective 
> for W3C or IETF or someone to invest in standardizing it?

He is not talking about arbitrary XML, he has a DTD. The infoset of the file may 
be more predictable (and thus compressable) than the XML he showed us.

> Another approach would be to define a custom binary format for the needs 
> of your application and provide a canonical mapping to a well-defined 
> format for purposes of interchange outside the application.  Because 
> it's not obvious that XML is well-suited to the needs of the application 
> you describe. -Tim

People use XML because they like the tools and the galaxy of related 
specifications. He could indeed define an ad hoc binary format for his needs, 
but I see the fact that that is precisely what many are doing as a cause for 
concern, especially as it's not done only in closed systems.

-- 
Robin Berjon <robin.berjon@expway.fr>
Research Engineer, Expway
7FC0 6F5F D864 EFB8 08CE  8E74 58E6 D5DB 4889 2488

Received on Wednesday, 11 December 2002 13:32:16 UTC