Re: [xml-dev] Status of MicroXML?

[Kurt Cagle <kurt.cagle@gmail.com>]

I don't necessarily think that removing namespaces is the answer. Reforming them is. I think that XQuery is one of the first languages that I've seen where namespace usage begins to approach that used by other programming language, and even there it's primarily because XQuery can be used in an object like context. In general people don't like namespaces because namespaces have a tendency to reflect authority, rather than library organization.

Similarly, I think the XPath fails on this same regard. From a programmer's standpoint:

/bookstore:bookSet/bookstore:book/bookstore:author

seems unduly redundant, and they'd be right; why can't we say

bookstore:/bookSet/book/author

or even

com.mycompany.bookstore:/bookSet/book/author

THAT feels a lot more like most programmers are user to. 

I worry that in the rush to "simplify" XML people are interpreting the problem with namespaces as being that programmers are too stupid to use them. I have to wonder if instead, we've created a namespace notation that is counterintuitive to the way that programmers handle their own namespace issues (and anyone doing OOP deals with namespaces in some fashion or another). 

Kurt Cagle
XML Architect
Lockheed / US National Archives ERA Project

On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 10:07 PM, Liam R E Quin <liam@w3.org> wrote:

On Sun, 2010-12-19 at 21:05 -0500, Amelia A Lewis wrote:
[...]

> I liked Liam's catalog.  I don't think that it represents consensus,

Neither do I - my goal was to try and list the main issues that had
been discussed.

> Take the XQuery Data Model.  From the seven node kinds, remove
> 'Namespace' and 'Document'.  Remove everything that follows as a
> consequence.

The XDM is a better starting point than the XML Infoset (which is in
fact no more han a glossary, not a data model at all), but XDM is still
more API-oriented than document/interchange oriented.  There needs to be
a middle ground.

Best,

Liam

--
Liam Quin - XML Activity Lead, W3C, http://www.w3.org/People/Quin/
Pictures from old books: http://fromoldbooks.org/
Ankh: irc.sorcery.net irc.gnome.org www.advogato.org

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