xml-dev - Re: FYI: Announcement of a new I-D for XML media types

[Matt Sergeant <matt@sergeant.org>]

On Wed, 10 May 2000, Rick JELLIFFE wrote:

> Murata Makoto wrote:
>  
> > We are looking forward to your feedbacks.
> 
> Very disappointing to see:
> 
> 1) Charset "should" be given for application/xml.  HTTP has a character
> set handling concept that comes from fantasyland. I would recommend a
> very different policy: never use xml/data, always use application/xml;
> never use charset, always use xml encoding declarations.

While I agree to an extent, implementation is trivial. Although, as the
XML spec says, a character set on the higher-level transport protocol
should only be used for error recovery.

> 2) "When non-validating processors handle XML documents, they do not
>       always read external parsed entities. Thus, interoperability is
>       not guaranteed."
> This is just FUD: why isnt this handled by the "standalone" declaration.
> If it is a comment about bugs in software, that is out-of-place here. 

I don't think it's a comment about bugs in software. Expat, for example,
ignores external pe's unless you provide a way for it to load them (IIRC).

> 3) Support for xml:base. Xml:base is currently being railroaded through
> W3C with requirements document--on behalf of my organization which is a
> W3C member I have repeatedly asked what its justification is, and there
> has never been any answer.  Xml:base is dangerous because it creates an
> unlabelled dialect of XML--a general XML editor cannot treat URIs as
> text when cutting and pasting, it also may have to do something with
> xml:base.  It would be OK if managed as part of some more general
> package, but not by itself. In any case, it is not clear whether
> xml:base applies to all data marked by a schema as a URI or just to data
> marked as an xlink:href. It does not apply to URIs in SYSTEM identifiers
> in entities, ASAIK. 

I think you're right. Base should either be part of the higher-level
protocol, or part of the processing system (if server-side). I don't see
why it should be embedded in the MIME type. Is the aim here to contradict
HTTP/1.[12] ?

> Good to see:
> 
> 1) |xml suffix is great idea
> 
> 2) MIME types for DTDs and external parsed entities

I'm interested in how, for example, Apache (in particular, mod_mime) is
supposed to determine DTD's or epe's, but since they allow for usage of
text/xml anyway, its not too much of a big deal. (note that Apache can
easily sniff XML files: see Apache::MimeXML mod_perl module).

-- 
<Matt/>

Fastnet Software Ltd. High Performance Web Specialists
Providing mod_perl, XML, Sybase and Oracle solutions
Email for training and consultancy availability.
http://sergeant.org http://xml.sergeant.org



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