Re: [xml-dev] Generic XML Tag Closer </> (GXTC)

[Rick Jelliffe <rjelliffe@allette.com.au>]

Melvin Chin wrote:
> May I seek some opinions on this topic/proposal?
>
> ===================================================================
> To extend XML spec just a little to permit use of "</>" (GXTC)
> to be placed wherever it is permitted in the current XML spec
> to place a closing tag.  The semantics will be to effect a
> closing of the nearest open tag before the position of GXTC.
> ===================================================================
I released some C utilities to do this in 1999
http://www.stylusstudio.com/xmldev/200004/post20060.html

The source code is gone now (anyone have a copy?), but they are trivial 
to write.

Another approach is to use the open source SP parser, which is 
cross-platform and distributed in most Linux distributions (IIRC) and do 
that. It includes a tool to generate XML.

In SGML it is called short-tag minimization (as distinct from end-tag 
omission). You will probably have to adjust the SGML declaration (syntax 
configuration file) as appropriate.

You may find it easier to write your own little stack tracing tool to 
pre-process the semi-XML coming in. If you are doing this as an internal 
matter (i.e. as a stage in production) then ignore anyone who says "but 
it is not standard": how you organize your internal processes is your 
business, and in any case, it probably is standard (i.e., ISO IS 8879 as 
amended). If you are doing this and you are going to publish or on-send 
the data, don't do it.

Cheers
Rick Jelliffe

* I wrote a little C program to do this