RE: ASN.1 and XML

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

>ISO 8879 is SGML, which despite
>being far more complex is but a pale shadow of XML+schemas; it was never
>intended as a notation for data interchange, just documents...

MIL-D-87269.  FOSI.  Just two.  Yes, people did do data exchange with SGML. 
We didn't do networking with it.  No one wanted that then.  That 
was left-wing lunatic fringe stuff.  What is a document?  The stuff 
between the tags?

>Stuff like groves seems to suggest that some people were having XML-like
>ideas for SGML before XML came along, but it never took off;

Hmmm.  Groves.  Named by Jon Bosak.  Seems he had some 
impact on XML thinking.  DSSSL->XSLT.  James Clark.  Seems 
he had some impact on XML.  Hmmm.  Steve deRose, late 80s 
papers on doing hypertext with SGML.  Durand?  Well, he 
taught us all about object-oriented 'pixie dust'.  Hmm... Mahler; 
first book on structured design with SGML.  Kimber, I 
seem to remember this guy editing the HyTime spec and some 
odd papers on Groves.  Wonder whatever happened to him?  
Hollander, Paoli, wow, even some dude named Goldfarb.  Rubinsky? 
Scheduled, but had to go to better gig and pull from that side.

Hey folks, how many of you out there were originally SGMLers and sat 
in on the XML design fracas?  Umm, ok, maybe not Tim Bray, but heck, 
he did go to some conferences and married into the family in 
time to get a ticket at the door. :-)

BTW:  ASN.1 as a competitor to SGML was discussed years ago.
We were doing document systems then and it seemed just too 
darned obscure for that kind of grunt work.  Style counts.

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

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