RE: Open the window and close the door

["Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@ingr.com>]

Finally, the real difference between specifications and 
standards:

Specification - implement this.  If this doesn't work, 
come back and adjust the specification.

Standard - implement this.  If this doesn't work, go 
back and adjust the implementation.

The specification has to care.  The standard doesn't. 
You figure out what open means.

Len 
http://www.mp3.com/LenBullard

Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti.
Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h


-----Original Message-----
From: Eric van der Vlist [mailto:vdv@dyomedea.com]
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2001 1:41 PM
To: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
Subject: Open the window and close the door


For a software, being open means using open standards to define the
interfaces with other products making them plugable with your
competition.

Sadly, this seems to be a weak strategy since the biggest vendors of
today have built their strength on the opposite one.

For a standard (or pseudo standard), being open means that anyone
(willing to pay an entrance fee) can participate and that the anyone
else may still have a look through the window.

A standard can be both open (in the standard meaning) and closed (in the
software meaning), but is it really the good strategy for a standard?

Eric
-- 
Rendez-vous a Paris pour net2001.               http://www.mynet2001.net
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Eric van der Vlist       Dyomedea                    http://dyomedea.com
http://xmlfr.org         http://4xt.org              http://ducotede.com
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