xml-dev - RE: In praise of SVG

["Didier PH Martin" <martind@netfolder.com>]

Hi Ashvil,


Ashvil said:
Can Mozilla work as a XHTML container. That way companies like Adobe, Mayura
Draw, etc. can plug-in XML grammars like SVG, MathML into Mozilla.

They way I look at it, there is a Compound Document container, which
contains an XML parser, Internet libraries (like WinInet), DOM support,
rendering framework, and support for other generic XML standards like XSLT,
XML Schema, etc.

All the other XML grammars are supported by plug-ins, using a plug-in
architecture that enables seamless integration with the container for DOM,
XML support, etc.

This is unlike the way the current plug-ins work, which have zero
integration with the container, besides sharing the visual space in a
browser window.

Microsoft's OLE structured document storage used compound documents, but I
felt that, it did not fly because the file format was too complex. With XML
we have an opportunity to reverse that. All we need is a good XHTML
container to start with  ;-)

Didier replies:
I see what you mean and I thought this also. But when I made some
experiments in Didier's labs I found that to you cannot design an SVG object
that occupy a certain area on the screen and insert within this area form
object unless the plug-in support form object. So, the problem is that each
area has to be homogeneous and that for instance, mixing HTML elements with
SVG elements in the same area is not feasible with a plug-in or an active X
component. Thus, it is possible to mix elements (i.e. HTML and SVG) in the
same area only if the browser support it. Therefore only big pockets can do
that.

This said, it is possible to create - in Mozilla - documents mixing HTML and
SVG as long as the HTML and SVG elements are not in the same screen region.
But if you want to create a form that replicate paper forms, this is a task
which is out of sight in the Mozilla world but highly probable in the
Microsoft world. Therefore, this will re-enforce the market position of a
monopoly unless, the Mozilla project gets more help than some eloquent
discourse from Sun or IBM at Comdex or Red Hat or VA Linux at Linux world
:-)

Cheers
Didier PH Martin
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