Re: [xml-dev] basic qs - how is xml more flexible for exchangingdata?

[Rick Marshall <rjm@zenucom.com>]

absolutely. although an integer is supposed to be able to hold the 
address space, but the crazy intel addressing modes broke all that.

that's what rpc's and anf were all about.

for me xml is probably the ultimate anf (application neutral format) 
with the added advantages 1) unicode (or utf-n) - i think it was tim 
bray who pointed out the importance of cracking the internationalisation 
nut from the ground up and 2) tagging means that you know what you have 
and if it is what you expect (you even get some limited structural 
checking) and 3) all of this is independent of the generator/consumer. 
you can generate in C, i can consume in tcl, or java, or....

the no binary is important here. if you want a binary format then asn1 
is the candidate (similar advantages, but not readable).

rick

Michael Kay wrote:

>My copy of the C language specification says that the language doesn't
>define how many bits there are in a character or integer, what character
>code is used, what order the fields in a struct are stored in, whether
>integers are twos complement, or in fact anything else about the physical
>representation of data. So how can this possibly define an interchange
>format that anyone can rely on?
>
>Michael Kay
>http://www.saxonica.com/
>
>  
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Anil Philip [mailto:goodnewsforyou@yahoo.com] 
>>Sent: 15 September 2005 21:11
>>To: Michael Kay; 'xml dev'
>>Subject: RE: [xml-dev] basic qs - how is xml more flexible 
>>for exchanging data?
>>
>>I dont think you understood the post - I meant when
>>one transfers binary data (in a file or stream). I am
>>not referring to C compilers and it's not about
>>metadata or validation. Where are you now?
>>
>>--- Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com> wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Two C compilers on different architectures would
>>>represent that structure
>>>quite differently. There's no data interchange there
>>>at all except between
>>>identical machines with identical compilers running
>>>identical applications;
>>>there's no scope for attaching metadata to the
>>>message; there's no scope for
>>>validation... Where have you been all these years?
>>>
>>>Michael Kay
>>>http://www.saxonica.com/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>
>>		
>>__________________________________ 
>>Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 
>>http://mail.yahoo.com
>>
>>    
>>
>
>
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