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On Thursday 17 January 2002 08:30 am, Elliotte Rusty Harold wrote:
> > (person
> > (first-name "Gavin")
> > (last-name "Nicol"))
> >
> >I would argue that XML provides no intrinsic benefit over this.
>
> The 1-1 onto mapping is more obvious here than in the CSV case.
> However, I still think XML has practical benefits, even if the
> information content is the same. Simply put, XML makes it a lot
> easier for humans to match the right end-tag with the right
> start-tag, and to find out which one's missing where when there is a
> problem.
How about
person [
first-name [Gavin]
last-name [Nicol]
]
or perhaps
\begin{person}
\first-name{Gavin}
\last-name{Nicol}
\end{person}
the point being that eventually you can some up with one that is just
as easy as XML, maybe easier.
I agree that XML has practical benefits... but I think the cause is
more from "standardization" (minimal level of interoperability as
Marton says), "network effects", "application", and "tribal knowledge"
than from inherent benefits of the syntax.
FWIW. I also believe in "the right syntax for the job".
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