RE: [xml-dev] To namespace or not to Namespace ....

["stephengreenubl@gmail.com" <stephengreenubl@gmail.com>]

Having multiple namespaces in a document is, in my experience, akin to an analogy of a very wide vehicle/load - the problems come when you have to plan out where you're going to drive it and which roads will take it and the nightmares come when you take it somewhere the first time. So with  the multi namespace XML - you don't know which technologies, APIs, tools, etc will be able to take it. Many can't. Try listing tools, technologies, etc and making a matrix of which can handle it - WSDL, XForms, database shredding, serialization APIs... 


-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Welch
Sent:  07/04/2010 10:55:20 pm
To: Uche Ogbuji
Cc: Simon St.Laurent; xml-dev@lists.xml.org
Subject:  Re: [xml-dev] To namespace or not to Namespace ....

>> >> You can't go far wrong if:
>> >>
>> >> - You pick a namespace that will never change: don't use dates, or
>> >> words like 'proposed' or 'beta', or embed version information
>> >> - You always use a prefix
>> >> - You tell the team to always use an XML parser to read the XML, and
>> >> an XML writer to serialise the XML, and never ever process XML as a
>> >> string
>> >
>> >
>> > Ha!  Just Ha!
>> >
>> > You probably need to add about 100 items to your list.
>>
>> Come on then, list them, it all helps.
>
> I don't have the time to re-hash the thousands of messages on this list,
> which would easily yield you your list of 100, nor the thousands of messages
> on the W3C list that was set up to address the issues of syntax/semantic for
> namespace URLs, which would easily give you another 100.  I regret that I
> have an full work day.  You have the list archives.


I'm talking about some simple advice for a relatively pain free
introduction of namespaces that covers 99% of cases.

You are talking about an expert guide - 2 prefixes for the same
namespace, 2 namespaces with the same prefix... they are edge cases
(where edge == don't exist in the real world)

After having exactly this problem at the last few contracts (getting a
team of non-xml developers to process namespaced xml) the same issues
arise each time, which can be avoided if you do the things I've
mentioned.  More things can be added, such as explaining that the
namespace url doesn't have to point to anything, but the aim is to
keep it simple.

I don't have a problem with namespaces, neither do most people after
some exposure to them and some simple tips.


-- 
Andrew Welch
http://andrewjwelch.com
Kernow: http://kernowforsaxon.sf.net/

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