Re: [xml-dev] "Introducing MicroXML, Part 1: Explore the basicprinciples

[John Cowan <cowan@mercury.ccil.org>]

David Lee scripsit:

> My take is a little more serious.  If an attribute is part of the
> xml namespace then there is a presumption that all consumers of "XML"
> understand and apply the semantics.  

Not at all.  It's quite common, for example, not to support xml:space,
and there are plenty of document types that use id or something else
rather than xml:id.  The xml:* attributes are there if you need them,
but otherwise have no special status.

> Unlike HTML where the intent of the HTML semantics is very tightly bound
> to presentation in a browser.  XML (or MicroXML) is not necessarily
> bound to presentation semantics.  So what does it mean in the general
> sense to recognize and support the semantics of href and friends ?

Hyperlinking is not about presentation, it's about expressing a relationship
between documents.  For various hysterical raisins, XML-based document types
have most often chosen to use non-generic markup to express hyperlinking.

-- 
Note that nobody these days would clamor for fundamental laws        John Cowan
of *the theory of kangaroos*, showing why pseudo-kangaroos are   cowan@ccil.org
physically, logically, metaphysically impossible.    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
Kangaroos are wonderful, but not *that* wonderful.     --Dan Dennett on zombies