RE: How to specify a Processing Instruction? (better: how tocontrolencoding on saving)

[Julian Reschke <julian.reschke@gmx.de>]

> From: Arnold, Curt [mailto:Curt.Arnold@hyprotech.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 9:36 PM
> To: 'xml-dev@lists.xml.org'
> Subject: RE: How to specify a Processing Instruction? (better: how to
> controlencoding on saving)
>
>
> > > The XML declaration is not a Processing Instruction, it
> > only resembles
> > > a
> > Processing Instruction.
> > >
> > Microsoft calls it the PI and has a specific method with
> > these words...so I was just using what they seem to indicate
> > in their documentation.
>
> Treating the XML Declaration as a Processing Instruction in the
> DOM is a MSXML'ism.  Not expressly forbidden in the DOM spec, but

I'd say it is forbidden. For instance, when loading the same document into
two different DOM implementations I'd expect that they create the same
number of processing instruction nodes. Otherwise they won't be
ineroperable.

> definitely stretching the intention.  An XML Declaration and
> Processing Instructions are distinct constructs in the XML
> specification.  The XML declaration can only appear at the very
> start of an XML document, Processing Instructions can appear
> anywhere in the
> document are expressly forbidden from using "xml" as their target
> (the part after the <?)

So XML declarations aren't processing instructions, and reporting them as
such is a conformance problem.