Re: [xml-dev] Should one adopt the tag naming convention of anexisting X

[cbullard@hiwaay.net]

Reality check, Uche: a not insignificant number of people giving us  
documents are using Microsoft Word.  Like it or not, that's where the  
information is; so, solving problems of that conversion is the first  
task on the stack, not the last one.  It isn't a hard one but it comes  
with surprises. The best tool does the job I need it do and doesn't  
get in the way.

There is a full copy of Arbortext Editor on my desktop here at work.   
I open the document in it from time to get error reports and to create  
PDF.  Like so many editors, it leaks memory and crashes the desktop,  
takes a very long time to render and has a very awkward means of  
entering attribute values.  The treeview is almost useless.

The attempt to be both an XML/SGML editor and a WYSIWYG editor is on  
my list of overbuilt.  It is a lot faster to build a form that  
sequences documents in response to queries, checks syntax and  
validates and on request, renders to a reasonable facsimile in an  
embedded browser in a separate tab.  Otherwise, the XML in XML is a  
fine GUI for editing.  I know, Oxygen is a good editor.  Get it past  
the procurement folk who vette sources before they will install  
software on the machines behind the firewalls.

This is an XML list that discusses Java, Javascript, PHP, even Lisp on  
occasion.  Tools is tools.  Notepad++ with syntax highlighting turned  
on gets a lot of useful work done for very little footprint.  That  
said, I still built my own editor from spare parts.  An illuminating  
exercise...

len

Quoting Uche Ogbuji <uche@ogbuji.net>:

> Boy you are confusing me. We're talking about better tools and you bring up
> MS Word? This is an XML list.
>
> Since none of us use computers by flipping dip switches any more, we all
> need software tools. A "better" tool is one that makes you a better user of
> your technology of focus. In the case of XML, if you are going to rely a
> tool to select a token for you, i.e. via double-clicking a name, then a
> "better" tool is one that knows what and where such a token is in XML.
>
> --Uche
>
> On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 7:15 AM, <cbullard@hiwaay.net> wrote:
>
>> Some better tools are overbuilt, old or don't have the functionality I
>> need baked in.   There is also a lot to learn from building tools, but more
>> importantly, when one can build the tool from the toolkit builder, one can
>> customize it to the precise conditions of the job.  They don't always
>> support a fast batch change and at crunch time, that ability pays dividends.
>>
>> There is nothing shabby about clicking on an element name and the search
>> term showing up in the search box.
>>
>> So called better tools are also a reason for "taggers" who know almost
>> nothing about XML.  They don't exactly impress me because we have to deal
>> with their inability to solve simple problems.  They don't understand why
>> cutting and pasting out of Word directly into an XML editor can create
>> problems.
>>
>> len
>>
>> Quoting Uche Ogbuji <uche@ogbuji.net>:
>>
>>  On Sun, Feb 5, 2012 at 9:21 AM, Len Bullard <cbullard@hiwaay.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>   "How often do you really click to cut and paste just an element name?"
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Quite a lot.    *Usually when searching.  It sets the term in the search
>>>> box.*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 1 click to select a word is best practice in Notepad++ and with XML
>>>> language selected, to highlight the element name and close for fast
>>>> scanning of the tree in the text.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Well then, as others have pointed out, you need to use better tools. It's
>>> not something I know about because it's not a problem I've ever had, but
>>> if
>>> I did, I'd certainly blame my tools, not the vocabulary design.
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Uche Ogbuji                       http://uche.ogbuji.net
>>> Weblog: http://copia.ogbuji.net
>>> Poetry ed @TNB:  
>>> http://www.**thenervousbreakdown.com/**author/uogbuji/<http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/author/uogbuji/>
>>> Founding Partner, Zepheira        http://zepheira.com
>>> Linked-in:  
>>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/**ucheogbuji<http://www.linkedin.com/in/ucheogbuji>
>>> Articles:  
>>> http://uche.ogbuji.net/tech/**publications/<http://uche.ogbuji.net/tech/publications/>
>>> Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/uche
>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/uogbuji
>>> http://www.google.com/**profiles/uche.ogbuji<http://www.google.com/profiles/uche.ogbuji>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Uche Ogbuji                       http://uche.ogbuji.net
> Weblog: http://copia.ogbuji.net
> Poetry ed @TNB: http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/author/uogbuji/
> Founding Partner, Zepheira        http://zepheira.com
> Linked-in: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ucheogbuji
> Articles: http://uche.ogbuji.net/tech/publications/
> Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/uche
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/uogbuji
> http://www.google.com/profiles/uche.ogbuji
>