Re: PSVI

[John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com>]

Henry S. Thompson wrote:


> [G]iven
> 
> <?xml version='1.0' standalone='yes'?>
> <!DOCTYPE foo [
> <!ATTLIST foo baz CDATA 'banana'>
> ]>
> <foo/>
> 
> some conforming processors will fill in the attribute value and some
> won't.

Not.

As Section 5.1 says:

# While [non-validating processors] are not required to check the
# document for validity, they are required to *process* all the
# declarations they read in the internal DTD subset [...] up
# to the first reference to a parameter entity that they do /not/
# read; that is to say, they must use the information in those
# declarations to [...] supply default attribute values.

The presence of "must" means that processors that don't fill in
the attribute value are not conforming processors.  This is
an important point, since it is a widespread myth that non-validating
processors may ignore the DTD altogether.
-- 
There is / one art             || John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com>
no more / no less              || http://www.reutershealth.com
to do / all things             || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
with art- / lessness           \\ -- Piet Hein