xml-dev - Re: Big Day for Namespaces, Styles

[Tyler Baker <tyler@infinet.com>]

"Steven R. Newcomb" wrote:

> [Tyler Baker:]
>
> > For technologies like XSL where you will have web-site designers who
> > don't have CS degrees from fancy-shmancy institutions, "Namespaces
> > in XML" will be a bigger travesty as transformation of XSL is
> > complicated enough already.
>
> It's wrong to suppose that information management is easy.  It's not.
> Information technology only makes the easy parts easier by making the
> hard parts harder.

There is a difference between easy and understandable.  I am one of the folks
that feels information management can always be made easier; "Namespaces in XML"
I feel makes things harder overall.

True genius is being able to make complex things simple so it is very hard for me
to understand how "Namespaces in XML" got to be the way it is considering the
editors and WG members are all well-respected, intelligent people.  Sometimes
smart people get lazy in trying to build solutions that the next generation of
programmers and developers can first understand and then build upon.  I think
that "Namespaces in XML" totally ignores the very important goal of making XML an
architecture that the next generation can understand and build upon.

A fellow student of mine back in my college days was peeved about the advent of
Java because he said that it was a dummied down language and that only C should
be allowed because only the gifted can use it.  I guess he was one of the folks
that felt that the programming world should only be reachable by people insane
enough to live off of mountain dew for years on end and have no life other than
coding.  Though I personally sometimes reflect that stereotype, most people are
not as dedicated as I or most of the posters to this list and may not enjoy
programming at all, but do it just to put food on the table for their family.  I
respect those people and when you make their life harder, you will be making your
own life harder because they will not use the tools you develop and they may even
deem you a geek.  And worst of all, they will opt for mediocre solutions like
Visual Basic because even though it is ugly, it is easy for the mere mortal to
understand.  In the end you die childless at age 40 from a heart attack (you
can't live off pop and cheetos forever) with only your glorified ego to let you
rest in piece as the medics pound on your chest doing CPR.  Pretty depressing
isn't it.  Well so is "Namespaces in XML".

Tyler


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