xml-dev - A question on nomenclature

["Hunter, David" <dhunter@Mobility.com>]

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  <first/>
  <middle/>
  <last/>
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A simple question.  What is that?

My choices so far:
-an "application of XML", or possibly just "application", although this
would cause confusion with "application" as defined in the spec.
-a "vocabulary" (the one I personally use, although I may change after this
thread...)
-a "grammar"

Keep in mind I'm talking about the "structure" there, not the "instance" of
that "structure".  (I want to describe the "class", not the "object".)  I
have a feeling that there isn't a real consensus anywhere, and that
different people are using different names.  (Are there any others?  Do
people use "format", or something along those lines?  Or "class"?)

It's not something that I would ever have to worry about when using XML in
my applications, but if I were to, oh, I don't know, write a book about XML,
I'd want to create as little confusion as possible, so would I be safe in
calling the structure I created a "vocabulary"?  Do things get hairier if we
get into formats documented in DTDs/Schemas, and documents with no DTD or
Schema, or does the nomenclature stay the same?

Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.  Any documentation that I've
missed which states emphatically "this is what you would call it" would be
even more appreciated, but I don't think it's out there...

David Hunter
MobileQ 
david.hunter@mobileq.com 
http://www.MobileQ.com 

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