Re: [xml-dev] My report on experiments with unused namespaces

[Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>]

  On 15/09/2010 9:43 PM, Costello, Roger L. wrote:
> Michael Kay wrote:
>
>> I actually came across one usage of XML in which the namespace
>> declaration in
>>
>> <a xmlns:v="http://www.x.com/"/>
>>
>> was considered significant. They were using it, rather as some people
>> use processing instructions or comments, as a device for adding
>> information to an XML document (in this case, a kind of version
>> attribute) without having to modify the schema.
> What do you think about that? Is it a good idea?
>
> Until I saw that I was ready to pronounce all unused namespaces as evil,

I'm reluctant to moralise about technical decisions. I'm a pragmatist. 
Do what best meets the project requirements (balancing the short-term 
requirements against the long-term requirements, stated or unstated). I 
don't know the requirements of this project, so I can't judge whether 
this was an optimal design. Generally, any attempt to circumvent a 
schema suggests a degree of short-termism, but there are times when 
short-termism is appropriate.

If there really is no alternative to circumventing the schema in this 
kind of way, I think I would generally choose to add processing 
instructions rather than namespace declarations, but neither is very 
attractive.

Michael Kay
Saxonica