Re: "Binary XML" proposals

["Anders W. Tell" <opensource@toolsmiths.se>]

I agree,  its is quite possible to create binary parsers with a SAX
interface
ie: interoperability on a higher level than the XMLtext format level.

Interesting to hear about MPEG7. are there any work being done on BinML
there ?
Any links that migth be interesing ?

Claude Seyrat wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> It seems to me that a debate "binary format vs textual format"
> is irrelevant. It is clear that none of them is the perfect format.
> Both binary and textual have their pros and cons.
>
> XML defines a very powerfull and generic framework for managing and
> processing structured information: very simple APIs (SAX, DOM, etc..),
> generic query language (XQuery), locators (XPath), transformations
> (XSL-T). New concepts are emerging like infosets which, among other
> thing, clarifies the notion of validation and typing, etc..
>
> In certain environment, like broadcast or handheld, CPU, memory and
> network ressources are very expensive. For instance, in the multimedia
> indexing domain, there are applications which need very large
> structured AV metadata stream (might become as large as a video
> stream) with very strong constraints in terms of compression,
> filtering and streaming. A textual format would in these cases be
> a terrible burden. However, it would be very damageable to forbid
> interoperability with XML environments.
>
> Therefore, binary formats will continue to exist. The new challenge
> is not to replace one format or the other, but to make them as
> compatible as possible. It should be very easy to switch from one
> format to an other. The effort spend to design an XML language should
> be reused for the binary format. Finally, a "text-designed
> application" should be easily adapted to deal with a binary format.
>
> When designing MPEG-7, the following policies have been adopted:
> - to stay as close as possible to the XML spirit by the adoption
>   of a textual version designed with XML Schema,
> - to define a binary format that uses XML Schema definition to
>   generate an efficient encoding scheme,
> - to allow one to decide whether he wants to use binary or textual
>   format.
>
> Since the beginning, MPEG-7 has been XML driven. The MPEG-7 community
> is very reluctant to follow another development path. However in
> MPEG-7 everybody recognizes the need for a binary format.
>
> Best regards,
> Claude.
>
> --
> ______________________________________________
>
> Claude Seyrat
>
> Expway c/o Acland
> 18 avenue Georges V
> 75008 Paris
> tel: 33 1 56 62 11 05
> fax: 33 1 56 62 11 11
> mail: claude.seyrat@expway.fr
>
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