Re: requesting XML records

> Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 15:09:59 +0100
> From: "Jonathan Rowell" <bigrat18@hotmail.com>
> 
> not wanting to start a flame war the definition is :-

... and not wanting to perpetuate one either, but ...  :-)

> [Definition:] An XML namespace is a collection of names, identified
> by a URI reference [RFC2396], which are used in XML documents as
> element types and attribute names. XML namespaces differ from the
> "namespaces" conventionally used in computing disciplines in that
> the XML version has internal structure and is not, mathematically
> speaking, a set.

I'm familiar with that definition.  The problem is, no-one seems to
know what it means.  It is at best ambiguous if not actually
controversial -- for example, see XML.com's article _Namespace Myths
Exploded_ at
	http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2000/03/08/namespaces/
the introduction of which summarises the many issues rather deftly
thus:

	As long as you don't look too deeply, XML namespaces
	do their job and do it reasonably well.  Of course,
	many people have looked too deeply.

:-)

Myths #6 ("An XML namespace has an internal structure") are #8 ("XML
namespaces are strongly related to schemas") are particularly ...
What's the opposite of enlightening?  :-)

I don't pretend to understand all the back-and-forthing of this stuff,
and you very probably have a deeper understanding of it than I do.
But what's clear is that the concept we're trying to capture in the
putative "give me an XML record in this schema" request is _not_
talking about getting back records "in a specified namespace" -- if
that phrase even means anything.

JMHO.

 _/|_	 _______________________________________________________________
/o ) \/  Mike Taylor  <mike@indexdata.com>  http://www.miketaylor.org.uk
)_v__/\  "It seems to be the word on the street that Hypsilophodontidae
	 is paraphyletic" -- Pete Buchholz.

--
Listen to my wife's new CD of kids' music, _Child's Play_, at
	http://www.pipedreaming.org.uk/childsplay/

Received on Wednesday, 26 March 2003 11:32:06 UTC