xml-dev - Myths and Misunderstanding

[Len Bullard <cbullard@hiwaay.net>]

Another day in the snake brain of XML-Dev: quick to react, slow 
to redact.

1.  No one invented XML.  It is an engineering project with many 
mothers.  Microsoft certainly made it emerge faster by sponsoring 
it early, and has implemented it as well as others.  I do question 
the emotional reactions.  We've been through this "who invented 
XML" thread before.  Give MS their due; their members quickly 
corrected the misunderstanding.  Should others credited with being the 
inventors of XML show the same polite response?

2.  SOAP is OK.  It saves us some re-re-re invention time.  From the 
first posts in comp-text-sgml at least five years ago on markup 
based RPC-like protocols to now, at least we finally have one.  Sure, 
the hyperbole is what it always is in this day of "if you don't 
have a URL for it, it doesn't exist" argument, but sorting the 
superstitions of the web will always be a chore because promoting 
superstition is what the web does best.

3.  The Intel announcement seems to be breezing past everyone. 
Has anyone yet figured out how markup languages are chosen to be 
burned into firmware? The announcement says 
it will support "the main" ones.  Who chooses? Intel?
Is Intel choosing not the same thing 
as bundling an application language (say HTML) handler into 
the operating system and forcing it?  If the local owners get to choose, 
then like local namespace registries, it is a good thing.  If 
Intel chooses, then one might want to reexamine monopolies 
and restriction of trade and innovation issues.

len


***************************************************************************
This is xml-dev, the mailing list for XML developers.
To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo@xml.org&BODY=unsubscribe%20xml-dev
List archives are available at http://xml.org/archives/xml-dev/
***************************************************************************