Requirements of the editor of a working group that is developing anXML m

["Costello, Roger L." <costello@mitre.org>]

Hi Folks,

Suppose that you are part of a group of people developing a new XML markup language.

One person is designated as the editor.

I recommend that that person (a) be a SuperProgrammer, and (b) is required to single-handedly implement a reference implementation of the markup language.

[Definition:] SuperProgrammers look just like ordinary programmers but are 2, 10 or 100 times more productive [1]. 

I have met a few SuperProgrammers. They are truly amazing.

I cite two examples of working groups that met this requirement:

1. Tim Bray was the editor of the XML specification. Shortly after XML became a full recommendation Tim and Lauren Wood went to Australia and got married. On their honeymoon Lauren messed up her right knee and had to have it operated on. As Lauren was convalescing in the hospital Tim wanted to be by her side. But no point just sitting there so he brought his laptop and implemented the world's first XML Parser and called it  LARK (any guess on how he came up with that name?) To this day LARK is one of the best XML Parsers.

2. James Clark was the editor of the XSLT 1.0 specification. Each W3C technology goes through a number of working drafts before becoming a full recommendation. Interestingly, every time a new XSLT working draft was announced as complete, James would announce *the next day* an implementation of the new working draft. Ditto for when XSLT became a full recommendation. The name of his XSLT processor is XT. To this day XT is one of the best XSLT 1.0 Processors.

3. (I am guessing here) Time required to implement LARK: 2 weeks. Total time required to implement XT: 1 month.

4. Cost of LARK: $0. Cost of XT: $0.

Tim Bray and James Clark were able to do what they did because:

a. Tim knew XML intimately (he wrote the XML specification) and James knew XSLT intimately (he wrote the XSLT specification).

b. Tim and James are SuperProgrammers.

Adhere to this requirement and you will have a successful development of the markup language. Don't adhere to this requirement and you will likely fail or it will be extremely expensive or both.

Thoughts?

/Roger

[1] http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?SuperProgrammer