xml-dev - Re: Feeler for SML (Simple Markup Language)

["Michael Champion" <Mike.Champion@softwareag-usa.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Leigh Dodds <ldodds@ingenta.com>
To: xml-dev <xml-dev@ic.ac.uk>
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 1999 9:19 AM
Subject: RE: Feeler for SML (Simple Markup Language)



> What would we gain from SML that we couldn't gain from only
> producing (and therefore processing) XML documents but
> without any of the 'additional' features?

A "standard", or really a sortof an informal contract, saying I won't send
you messages or documents with any attributes, PIs, entities, etc.
This lets you optimize your code to be blissfully ignorant of them.  But
without
a "contract" saying what we won't send each other, there are many potentials
for interoperability failures.  I might send Don a document with attributes
(which
I happen to like) but his processor chokes on. It would be better to form
a wide consensus on EXACTLY what subset of XML the "SML community" would
understand.

>
> If I don't want to have attributes, or PIs, or use entities,
> etc. then I don't *have* to. Granted the SAX/DOM APIs
> still provide support for these constructs, but
> I can still ignore them surely? (and I still retain
> the option to use them at a later date).

Right.  But your true-XML parser, DOM/SAX APIs, transformation
engines, etc. will be bloated with all sorts of code that will never be
executed.  If I'm writing applications for cellphones, that matters!





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