Re: [xml-dev] XPackage: RDF/XLink-based packaging format

["Garret Wilson" <garret@globalmentor.com>]

Rick,

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Jelliffe" <ricko@allette.com.au>
To: "xml-dev list" <xml-dev@lists.xml.org>
Cc: "www-xml-packaging list" <www-xml-packaging@w3.org>
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2001 7:44 PM
Subject: Re: [xml-dev] XPackage: RDF/XLink-based packaging format


> Yes. I find it a little confusing that some people mean "packaging"
> to mean "manifests" while others use it to mean "bundling".
> XPackage seems to be really a manifest format, not what I would
> call packaging per se.

XPackage defines a "package" in terms of a resource---the package is the
abstract entity that results after other resources are "packaged" or related
to each other. Specifically, XPackage defines a way to describe this
package, and calls the thing conforming to XPackage the "package description
instance." Most of the time, this resides in an XML document; therefore, a
package description document (a specific type of package description
instance) describes a package resource and the resources that make it up.

XPackage refers to the physical bundling of resources as a "package archive"
and leaves it to other specifications to define such a storage format.

True, packaging has historically been used in both the manifest and archive
senses. XPackage is currently written so that if a package is considered to
be a resource, then it is distinct from an archive (such as XAR). Granted,
though, the original W3C XML Packaging charter draft used "collection" and
"package" in place of XPackage's "package" and "archive", respectively. I'd
like to see more arguments on both sides before this XPackage terminology is
changed---I'm not sure I like the sound of XCollection, anyway. ;)

> I will be in Florida for the XML 2001 conference in early December.
> That would probably be a good time for anyone interested to discuss
> this further. (We have gone ahead and made a trial implementation
> of DZIP for our new product which may help discussion too.)

I'd love join, but I'm not sure I can make it. Can you point me to the
meeting information?

Cheers,

Garret