xml-dev - Re: XML and HTML Intermixed

[Richard Light <richard@light.demon.co.uk>]

In message <8576@ursus.demon.co.uk>, Peter Murray-Rust
<Peter@ursus.demon.co.uk> writes
>
>This is what I am waiting for guidance on :-).  Some people such as Eliot
>(and I as a humble follower), see 'resource' as a point.  Others appear to
>use 'resource' to represent a finite piece of information.  If the latter
>is, in fact, the ERB's view, then the question of where to 'insert' the
>other information is critical.

Well, the XML-Link draft defines 'resource' as "an addressable unit of
information or service which is participating in a link", e.g. "files,
images, documents, programs and query results". In that sense, surely, a
'resource' is definitely a finite piece of information rather than a
point.

I think I can understand the 'point' point-of-view, in that linking (to
XML documents or elements within them) always addresses nodes, which are
points. However, the XML locator syntax carefully ensures that the
target of a link within an XML document is always an element (or
sometimes a little clutch of elements) - it can never be part of an
element (as it can with TEI extended pointers).  

So your 'point' is always an element node(s) in the tree structure.
This being the case, I have assumed myself that the intention is to _be
able to_ treat the target resource (element) as a finite thing which can
be delivered to the client.  

Surely the wording for ?XML-XPTR= syntax shows an intent to actually
deliver the whole element: "... the host should perform the XPointer
processing to extract the sub-resource [= element], and that only the
sub-resource should be transmitted to the client".

Richard Light.


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