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RE: [xml-dev] So maybe ID isn't a problem after all.
> Without IDs, XML can only serialize trees.
> With IDs, it can serialize arbitrary graphs
> in a fairly application-independent way,
> at least within a single document.
> This is often an important facility.
An application that knows the schema of the document can view it as a graph,
without depending on the parser to have detected IDs and IDREFs (example:
HTML file and browser). Can you give an example of generic application or
utility (one that doesn't a priori know the schema of the document) which
needs to treat the document as a graph?
I suppose there are layering scenarios where some lower generic layer does
something 'directed-graph-ish' for the application layer ... in that case it
would need some ID/IDREF knowledge. In fact for any schema-aware processing
you need to have awareness of that part of the schema -- is it the case that
ID/IDREF is more important than other schema-dependent features? I notice
that most of this thread has been about ID-ness, not about IDREF-ness.
To the extent that URI fragment addressing works, the web itself is a
directed graph; that seems to be consistent with a lot of intents including
the intent of URI fragment. The extent to which could work seems to be HTML
+ schema-or-dtd-defined XML - is that correct? Can you give an example of
where it needs to work in a different extent?
Jim
---------------------------
Jim Theriot
mailto:Jim.Theriot@posc.org
POSC -- Energy eStandards
9801 Westheimer, Suite 450
Houston TX USA 77042
+1 713 267 5109 : phone
+1 713 784 9219 : fax
---------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: John Cowan [mailto:jcowan@reutershealth.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 7:52 AM
To: James Clark
Cc: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
Subject: Re: [xml-dev] So maybe ID isn't a problem after all.
James Clark wrote:
[magisterial summary deleted]
> (B) The other choice we can make is to say that ID-ness is important.
I agree with this view, and on primarily data-centric grounds. Without
IDs, XML can only serialize trees. With IDs, it can serialize
arbitrary graphs in a fairly application-independent way, at least
within a single document. This is often an important facility.
> The only solution that I've seen that works with choice (B)
> is xml:idatt(s).
I agree.
--
Not to perambulate || John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com>
the corridors || http://www.reutershealth.com
during the hours of repose || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
in the boots of ascension. \\ Sign in Austrian ski-resort hotel
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