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Re: [xml-dev] Attribute Order
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In a message dated 07/12/01 21:06:09 GMT Standard Time, Mike.Champion@SoftwareAG-USA.com writes:
> If there are attribute sequence *requirements* then I don't think the
document is XML,
> although it may be similar in all other respects. By definition, in XML,
attribute order
> is not important.
That's a bit strong ... the data is XML if it's syntactically well-formed.
The problem is simply that application is not going to interoperate cleanly
with other XML applications if it takes advantage of syntactic structures
that aren't guaranteed to be preserved by an XML parser or the InfoSet. In
other words, the application is fragile, but it's not illegal. You're not
breaking the rules of XML by treating attribute order as significant, you're
just relying on the behavior of some tool rather than the behavior specified
in the XML contract.
Mike,
I was right and I was wrong. :)
If attribute order is specified it may be "XML" if it is Canonical XML.
We agree, I think, that the practical implication is that attribute ordering other than in the very specific setting of Canonical XML is inadvisable.
Andrew Watt
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