Re: About Infosets

["W. E. Perry" <wperry@fiduciary.com>]

Didier PH Martin wrote (as the conclusion to a tight and convincing argument for
a proposition with which I disagree on fundamental premises):

> So we are very close but not there yet. processing modules have to get a
> common way to interact with the data structure. Said differently, we have now
> to move away from parsing(syntax) to processing (do somehing with). Define how
> modules can access and share a common data structure (the hierarchical
> database created by the de-serialization obtained from the
> parsing process).

IMH (if oft-repeated) opinion, 'parsing (syntax)' is the inherent mechanism of
XML for 'interact[ing] with the data structure'. The data structure is
discovered in the parse of the instance. If that structure as discovered does
not correspond to some pre-ordained model or abstraction, then this instance is
not valid against that model. Nevertheless this instance--allowing only that it
is well-formed--is XML and, I would argue, the correct and most XML-compliant
mechanism for extending processing capabilities designed to operate upon XML
instances.

Respectfully,

Walter Perry