xml-dev - Re: XAPI

[Jonathan Robie <jwrobie@mindspring.com>]

At 03:31 PM 6/23/97 -0500, Alex Milowski wrote:
>> 
>> From: Kevin Grimes@LIANT on 06/23/97 02:14 PM
>> 
>> May I suggest that the XML API be expressed in language neutral IDL rather
>> than Java. I believe the main impact this would have on current
>> interfaces/implementations would be to the member function that actually
>> loads/processes the document--you'd probably want to replace the Java
>> InputStream or URL parameter with a String (BSTR in Microsoft's IDL)--as in
>> the following lines from my xml.idl...
>
>I like the idea of using IDL.  I have to confess that I haven't had much
>of an opportunity to use it (although I would have liked to have).  So, where 
>are the IDL "experts" that we can bring onboard to get that part correct?

Hmmmm...I just talked to one of our IDL experts, who wasn't convinced that
this would be a helpful direction.

Is there really an advantage to defining it in IDL first? The IDL could be
created after the specification is finished in Java, and the Java-based
specification is probably easier to create, understand, and test. I *like*
making things language independent, but at this stage, I'm leery of adding
complexity that doesn't add any new conceptual power. A Java-based
specification can be translated into IDL later, and until the specification
has actually been *implemented* in more than one language, the IDL doesn't
buy you much.

Jonathan

***************************************************************************
Jonathan Robie   jwrobie@mindspring.com  http://www.mindspring.com/~jwrobie
POET Software, 3207 Gibson Road, Durham, N.C., 27703    http://www.poet.com
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