Re: Short namespace URIs for W3C TRs available

On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 05:43:39 +0200, Mark Baker <distobj@acm.org> wrote:

> I don't have any strong opinions on which option should be used,
> though I suppose having no slash is cleaner, saves a character, and is
> consistent with existing W3C namespace naming practice (last time I
> looked).

Even though many existing namespaces have no trailing slash, I would  
propose that if we adopt a rule for the new shortnames, that we make a  
trailing slash the default.

The reason that it can make a difference is in the context of semantic web  
and qnames. In the HTML WG we want to talk about html:index, but since the  
namespace is http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml, that resolves to  
http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtmlindex, rather than the more malleable  
http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/index

Even if a group doesn't think it needs this, it may change its mind in the  
future, and so it is best to leave the door open.

(Note that several namespaces end in a '#' for the same reason).

Steven Pemberton