xml-dev - Re: Revised namespaces draft available

[Peter Murray-Rust <peter@ursus.demon.co.uk>]

At 14:52 04/08/98 -0400, John Cowan wrote:
>Peter Murray-Rust wrote:
>
>>         - collate experience from those who have actually implemented
namespaces
>> (somewhere in the 1997..1998-05 period). For example I discovered while
>> browsing XML4J today that it has considerable namespace support, and I'm
>> sure there are other tools (I'm happy to make the latest JUMBO2 available
>> shortly - it has a simple namespace approach).
>
>Well, as author of NamespaceFilter (which now bites the dust), I suppose

Lots of things bite the dust - chunks of JUMBO2 have as well and I suspect
XML4J.

>I count as a namespace implementor.  I foresee no difficulties in
>rewriting my code to meet the new draft (and at the same time adding
>general support for inherited attributes, which I had wanted to do
>as a ParserFilter anyway).  The new version will be less efficient,
>since every startElement event will have to have its attributes
>searched to see if a new xmlns:* attribute appears.

Since namespaces are so fundamental I think it's very important that we
outline the various ways forward. AIUI your filter sits on top of SAX
whereas I suspect others (including at least myself privately) want SAX to
do as much as possible. We don't want these to be incompatible.

>
>I would point out that people who use default or FIXED values of
>xmlns:* attributes would be well advised to put them in the
>internal subset, since non-validating parsers may not see them
>otherwise.

This isn't much fun. It would be a very easy mistake to make. Can we
package the NS stuff in a single file and do something like:

<!DOCTYPE ABC SYSTEM "abc.dtd" [
<!ENTITY % namespace1 SYSTEM "namespace1.ent">
%namespace1;
<!ENTITY % namespace2 SYSTEM "namespace2.ent">
%namespace2;
]>

This makes sure it gets included. You can also include namespace1.ent in
the external subset - it will get ignored if already declared in the
internal subset.

>
>
>>                 - IBTWSH
>
>IBTWSH is non-namespace rather than single-namespace.

	My point was that if I use it in (say) VHG - as I intend to - it has to
acquire a namespace. Thus:

<VHG:termEntry xmlns:VHG="urn:vhg.co.uk:schema"> <!-- please tell me if
this is wrong -->
  <VHG:term xml:lang="en" xmlns:xml="http://w3.org">XYZZY</VHG:term>
  <VHG:definition>
    <IB:P xmlns:IB="http://john.cowan.some.where">A magic word</IB:P>
  </VHG:definition>
</VHG:termEntry>

unless you intend that it should always have the null namespace xmlns="". I
wouldn't think that a good idea.

	P.


>
>-- 
>John Cowan	http://www.ccil.org/~cowan		cowan@ccil.org
>	You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
>	You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
>		Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)
>
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>
Peter Murray-Rust, Director Virtual School of Molecular Sciences, domestic
net connection
VSMS http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vsms, Virtual Hyperglossary
http://www.venus.co.uk/vhg

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