Re: [xml-dev] XML Namespaces 1.1

[Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>]

> To me the evolution of HTML is an illustration that things can change 
> and evolve and still be coped with.  It may not be pretty, but I 
> imagine that if HTML had not moved beyond 1.0 all web sites would be 
> Flash now :-)
>

It's much easier to add things than to take things away. The problem 
with namespaces is excess complexity, and proposed solutions fall into 
two categories:

(a) those that retain backwards compatibility and therefore retain all 
the complexity (typically adding yet more), and therefore fail to solve 
the basic usability problem.

(b) those that lose backwards compatibility and therefore impose an 
unacceptable level of pain on the community in relation to the benefit 
delivered.

Fixing XML is like fixing RFC 822 email, except that it's not nearly as 
badly broken as RFC 822. You can only fix it by adding patches upon 
patches, and these generally make it more complex and less 
interoperable, when what we are trying to achieve is the reverse.

Michael Kay
Saxonica