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simonstl@simonstl.com (Simon St.Laurent) writes:
>XML 1.0 was kind enough to programmers that it made markup ubiquitous,
>sure. At this point, though, I think the value of markup is clear
>enough that it's time to stop bending over backwards for programmers.
After writing this, it occurred to me that similar changes have happened
in user interface development, especially GUIs.
UI work was a strange and alien concept for most programmers, who kept
it as simple (and often cryptic) as possible. Over time, toolkits
emerged to let programmers create user interfaces more easily, though
the results weren't always pleasant for users. Over time, UI work has
shifted from "make it easy for programmers" to "make sure it's easy for
the users".
There's still a balancing act, as making UIs impossible for programmers
would lead to a lot fewer of them, but programmers who say "it's just
hard and I don't want to deal with it" pretty much have to find another
line of work.
I'm hoping that XML parallels this track.
--
Simon St.Laurent
Ring around the content, a pocket full of brackets
Errors, errors, all fall down!
http://simonstl.com -- http://monasticxml.org
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