Re: Looking for Clarification on XML Namespaces

> [NE09 clarification] The empty string, though it is a legal 
> URI reference, cannot be used as a namespace name. 

> However, when discussing Namespace Defaulting (in Section 5.2)
> the document states "The default namespace can be set to the 
> empty string.  This has the same effect, within the scope
> of the declaration of there being no default namespace."

> Are these two statements in conflict with each other?

The wording in section 5.2 is poor.  Instead of saying "the default
namespace can be set to the empty string", it should say something
like "the value of the xmlns attribute can be the empty string".
The point is that an empty xmlns value is just syntax for removing
the default namespace, rather than the empty string being interpreted
as a namespace name.

As a URI, the empty string means the current document.  xmlns=""
doesn't set the default namespace to be the current document, it
unsets the default namespace.

I'll change the wording in the forthcoming XML Namespaces 1.1.

-- Richard

Received on Wednesday, 19 March 2003 09:12:55 UTC