Re: [xml-dev] Edd Dumbill on SVG

[Robin Berjon <robin@knowscape.com>]

On Thursday 13 September 2001 02:48, Champion, Mike wrote:
> I commend to you Edd's XML.com article on SVG for a description of how XML
> "standards" CAN be done properly.
>
> http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2001/09/12/svg.html

Yes this is a good article, and he is right, the SVG spec is exemplary. I 
have rarely seen a spec so easy to read and understand.

> Unfortunately, as Edd points out, a couple of key client-side vendors (one
> of whom is quite vocal in promoting "standards" when they suit its own
> strategic purposes) have shown little interest in supporting SVG.  We can
> only hope that its use cases for mobile devices help it find a niche, or
> ... (taking another toke off the hookah <grin>) ... that maybe SVG will
> provide a way for the niche browsers to strike a few blows against the
> empire and get some healthy competition going again in that market.

The situation is not as bad as it looks. Adobe is shipping their SVG viewer 
with most of their products, including Acrobat Reader which is a very 
widespread tool and will most likely help greatly in spreading the plugin. 
Edd also forgot to mention a number of other very good initiatives around 
SVG, notably the Batik tookit from the ASF (with support amongst others from 
Kodak, Sun, Ilog, CSIRO...) and a number of others.

> Am I smoking (metaphorical) dope here, or does SVG almost make one believe
> that there is hope for the XML world after all?

There definitely is.

-- 
_______________________________________________________________________
Robin Berjon <robin@knowscape.com> -- CTO
k n o w s c a p e : // venture knowledge agency www.knowscape.com
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