Re: [xml-dev] Fixing what's broke

["Pete Cordell" <petexmldev@codalogic.com>]

When I was first introduced to XML, very much with a data-oriented hat on 
where you have lots of small values, my initial response to seeing something 
like:

<trajectory:initialVelocityVarianceCoefficient>1</trajectory:initialVelocityVarianceCoefficient>

was "are you kidding?  Next...".

But there wasn't really a "Next" then so I've had to keep taking the 
medicine and get used to it.  I imagine that many deciding between XML and 
JSON will have much the same opinion as I did, but they now have the JSON 
option.

I think simply doing the following goes a long way to fixing this:

<trajectory:initialVelocityVarianceCoefficient>1</>

I don't think we should go any further.  At best we are going to save 3 more 
characters, the parser doesn't have to change much to do it as it already 
has all the information it needs to fill in the missing end tag for higher 
layers if needed, and strings that have significant trailing white space are 
properly delimited.

Pete Cordell
Codalogic Ltd
Interface XML to C++ the easy way using C++ XML
data binding to convert XSD schemas to C++ classes.
Visit http://codalogic.com/lmx/ or http://www.xml2cpp.com
for more info
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ramkumar Menon" <ramkumar.menon@gmail.com>
To: <xml-dev@lists.xml.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 10:25 PM
Subject: Re: [xml-dev] Fixing what's broke


>
> Hey Gurus,
>
> Let me put the question other way around.
> May I ask if the success of XML is attributed to its verbosity?
>
> Introducing terse but complex syntax like skipping/stripping end tags 
> sound like 're-engineering' a traffic junction to have no lights and 
> assuming everyone understands when to stop/move.
> You save on traffic lights, but your traffic slows down. We can always 
> point people to a detailed manual instructing how to operate, but yeah, 
> how many humans do that diligently.
> XML is for the general public. Let the humans do their job, and the 
> parsers theirs.
>
>
> Ram
>
> 1. Tools help in minimizing the time required to crank out such verbose 
> data. This has matured over the last few years.
> 2. Well designed and written XML is not visually challenging.
> 3. Equating terseness and simplicity is tricky.
> 4. In-memory representations can represent the same data in a more terse 
> form Binary, Blah and what not!
> 5. With such a broad audience for its consumption, any new NextXML will 
> bloat up gradually with requests and requirements.
> 6. Storage is getting cheaper [or am I dreaming?]. Let those tags come in!
> 7. [Joke] It depends on how you look at it. [Imagine yourself wearing 
> "Red" lens glasses and staring at a "Green" light at a traffic junction!. 
> Honk! Honk! behind you.]
>
>
>
> On 12/9/2010 12:22 PM, Pete Cordell wrote:
>> Original Message From: "Liam R E Quin"
>>>> So I'd suggest doing something like:
>>>>
>>>> <Book:Book>
>>>> <Book:Author>John Grisham</>
>>>> <Book:Title>The Case of the Hidden Claw</>
>>>> </Book:Book>
>>>
>>> Maybe I wasn't clear. Suppose I now write,
>>> <Book:Book>
>>> <Book:Title>John Grisham</>
>>> <Book:Author>The Case of the Hidden Claw</>
>>> </Book:Book>
>>>
>>> How are you going to detect my error?
>>
>> I'll confess it did take me a long tome to spot the error.  However, I 
>> tend to use Visual Studio to edit XML files.  I imagine its at the bottom 
>> of the food chain, but it does automatically put in the end tag so I'm 
>> not sure I would have spotted the error from that.
>>
>> I would also like to believe that my schema would point the error out to 
>> me. Please don't go disillusioning me about that :-)
>>
>> Pete Cordell
>> Codalogic Ltd
>> Interface XML to C++ the easy way using C++ XML
>> data binding to convert XSD schemas to C++ classes.
>> Visit http://codalogic.com/lmx/ or http://www.xml2cpp.com
>> for more info
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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