XML Information Set enters Last Call

[Paul Grosso <pgrosso@arbortext.com>]

On behalf of the XML Core Working Group, I am pleased to announce
the publication of The XML Information Set specification Last Call 
Working Draft:

    - XML Information Set (Infoset) 
      W3C Last Call Working Draft 2 February 2001
      http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/WD-xml-infoset-20010202/

The Last Call review period ends 23 February 2001. Please send review
comments before that date to www-xml-infoset-comments@w3.org.

Introduction
------------

Because there was an earlier Last Call, the XML Core WG would like
to point out that there has been a change in design principle for
the current specification.  Please read the introduction carefully
where, among other things, it states:

 [This specification's] purpose is to provide a consistent set of
 definitions for use in other specifications that need to refer to
 the information in a well-formed XML document [XML]. 

 It does not attempt to be exhaustive; the primary criterion for
 inclusion of an information item or property has been that of
 expected usefulness in future specifications. 

In particular, that means that inclusion in the Infoset was driven
more by the intersection of what other specifications needed, not
the union, and omission of something from the Infoset does not mean
that a particular specification (e.g., the DOM, XML Schema, XML Query)
could not define new infoitems and require that processors conforming
to their specification must support such infoitems.  We viewed this
version of the Infoset as a "library of definitions to facilitate the 
writing of other specifications" rather than a definitive universe of
all information in an XML document.

Specific feedback request
-------------------------

Though feedback is solicited on the entire specification, there
is one area where the WG did not have consensus and on which feedback
is particularly desired.  Sections 2.16 and 2.17 of the spec define
cdata start and end marker information items.  The WG could not reach
consensus on whether these two info items should be left in the spec
or deleted from it.  These items having been in much earlier drafts 
of the infoset (and the previous Last Call version), the chair ruled 
that the status quo would hold for this Last Call draft and that 
feedback would be requested.

See the following two publicly viewable comments (and any followup
that may appear in the archive) for position statements on this topic:

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-xml-infoset-comments/2001JanMar/0034
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-xml-infoset-comments/2001JanMar/0035

Abstract
--------

This specification provides a set of definitions for use in 
other specifications that need to refer to the information 
in an XML document. 

Status of this Document 
-----------------------

Though this specification has already had a Last Call review on an 
earlier version [1], in light of the review and much discussion, the
XML Core Working Group has reworked the specification. The WG invites 
public comment on this new Last Call draft. The Last Call period ends 
on 23 February 2001. 

Comments on this specification are invited and should be sent to the 
public mailing list www-xml-infoset-comments@w3.org.  An archive is 
available at http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-xml-infoset-comments/.

For background on this work, please see the XML Activity Statement [2]. 
This specification is a product of the XML Core Working Group [3]. 

See the XML Information Set Requirements [4] for the specific requirements 
that informed development of this specification.

-------------------------

Paul Grosso
for the XML Core WG

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-xml-infoset-19991220
[2] http://www.w3.org/XML/Activity
[3] http://www.w3.org/XML/Activity#core-wg
[4] http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-xml-infoset-req