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> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Cowan [mailto:jcowan@reutershealth.com]
> Sent: Friday, September 13, 2002 17:54
> To: Alessandro Triglia
> Cc: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
> Subject: Re: [xml-dev] attributes vs. elements
>
>
> Alessandro Triglia scripsit:
>
> > > From: mgushee@havenrock.com [mailto:mgushee@havenrock.com]
> > > * White space in elements can be preserved, whereas
> white space in
> > > attributes is normalized (leading and trailing spaces
> are stripped,
> > > each extent of internal white space is collapsed to a
> single space
> > > character).
> >
> > I don't follow you. If the schema is specified in XML
> Schema and the
> > datatype of an attribute is "string" (whose "whitespace" facet is
> > "preserve" by default), I don't believe white space is normalized.
>
> Whitespace normalization depends on the DTD, if any.
If a schema is given, why would a DTD be needed? Is there a reason why
one would want to add a DTD to an instance that is known to be
described/constrained by a schema? (Also, what would guarantee that the
DTD and the schema are consistent with each other?)
> If an attribute
> is declared in the DTD as of type CDATA, or is not defined in
> the DTD, or
> the parser does not read the relevant part of the DTD, then minimal
> normalization of its value is done: namely, tabs, newlines,
> and CRs are
> changed to spaces.
I understand that this applies also when no DTD is present. Is this
point non-controversial? I mean, is there general agreement that
attribute values are to be normalized by XML processors even if DTDs are
not used at all? I ask this question because it is difficult to
separate, in the XML 1.0 Recommendation, the DTD-specific prescriptions
from those regarding the basic behavior of XML processors.
> A CR can only exist in an attribute value by the
> use of Stupid DTD Tricks.
>
> If the attribute is declared in the DTD with a type other
> than CDATA, and the
> parser knows it, then further normalization is done: leading
> and trailing
> spaces are removed, and all other runs of spaces are
> collapsed to a single
> space.
So if there is no DTD, this further normalization never occurs. This
means that an XML Schema "string" will have its leading, trailing, and
multiple spaces preserved. A "preserve" value for the white-space facet
effectively means "replace" when applied to attributes. Correct?
Alessandro Triglia
>
> All this is done conceptually *before* any XML Schema
> processing is done.
> Nothing analogous is done to character content, So:
>
> > an attribute of type "string" behaves differently from
> > an element of type "string" as to white space handling?
>
> Yes.
>
> --
> Knowledge studies others / Wisdom is self-known; John Cowan
> Muscle masters brothers / Self-mastery is bone;
> jcowan@reutershealth.com
> Content need never borrow / Ambition wanders blind;
www.ccil.org/~cowan
Vitality cleaves to the marrow / Leaving death behind. --Tao 33
(Bynner)
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