xml-dev - SDD again

[Paul Prescod <papresco@technologist.com>]

Let me risk another step into the language courtroom. Validating parsers
must always read the whole DTD. So the SDD is only for non-validating
parsers. Non-validating parsers do not read element type declarations. So
what is the point of this line:

"The standalone document declaration must have the value "no" if any
external markup declarations contain declarations of:"
...
"element types with element content, if white space occurs directly within
any instance of those types."

First, why does a non-validating parser care about element/mixed content?
It has no responsibility to do any marking of insignificant whitespace
anyhow. Second, if there is no class of processor that can reliably
reproduce the intended parse tree without reading the whole DTD, then
doesn't that significantly weaken the utility (okay, "purity") of the SDD?
Even if I am wrong on the last point, it seems that it does not do what it
is supposed to do properly.

 Paul Prescod  - http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca/~papresco

Can we afford to feed that army, 
 while so many children are naked and hungry?
Can we afford to remain passive, 
 while that soldier-army is growing so massive?
  - "Gabby" Barbadian Calpysonian in "Boots"

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