Re: [xml-dev] xml:lang how often used?

[Jirka Kosek <jirka@kosek.cz>]

Michael Kay wrote:

> Obvious example, not remotely strange or perverse:
> 
> <dictionary xml:lang="fr">
>   <term name="Computer">Ordinateur</term>
>   <term name="Software">Logiciel</term>
>   <term name="File">Fichier</term>
> </dictionary>
> 
> Now one can have an endless debate about whether one should use xml:lang
> there or some other attribute. Frankly I don't care. I think it misses the
> point: XML is about syntax, not semantics, and document designers should be
> free to choose their own tags.

FYI, you can attach this "language semantic" to document using ITS
markup, see
http://www.w3.org/International/its/techniques/its-techniques.html#DevLang

But in general it is not recommended to store natural language content
in attributes because you can't easily specify its language,
directionality, ...

			Jirka

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