RE: [xml-dev] Transformational reciprocity (was [xml-dev] XML'sgreatest

[David Lee <dlee@calldei.com>]

<<<
All of this brings me back to the opening of this thread, which I don't 
think you disagree with:

XML's greatest cultural advantage over JSON...

is that it includes a much richer and more nuanced understanding of
transformations.

Thanks,
-- 
Simon St.Laurent
<<<


I agree only indirectly ...
Why do I want transformations ? I don't do it for fun.
I need transformations because I have data in Format A and want it in Format B (or C or D)?
Why would I want that ?  many reasons, but a main one is interoperability.
The ability to transform formats buys you interoperability by not forcing either side of the exchange to use a particular format natively.
But to do a good job at transformation you need a clear description (formally or informally, but clear and precise) of exactly
what the data formats are on both sides or else you will screw up the transform by making incorrect assumptions (like I discovered I did last week
assuming I could pass a 64 bit integer to JSON).  
You also generally need a format which is a reasonably tolerable *superset* of the formats you wish to transform in terms of data representation capability.
Otherwise you suffer the star problem of transformations and tools.  
What are tools to enable clear descriptions ?  One way is clear and concise specifications, one form of which is schema. 
There are other ways like putting the two people who know each format side by side and verbally exchanging the information ... that is if they can remember all the details perfectly.
There certainly are other ways to solve the problem, but the problem still requires clear understanding  of format and semantics, and a rich enough data model and toolset.
So IMHO transformations are not the advantage itself but rather the means to an end.   One part of a bigger problem which the XML ecosystem solves fairly well, 
certainly vastly better then JSON, and IMHO better than any other ecosystem currently available.    But of course by solving a big problem it suffers somewhat on simple problems.
oh well, cake and eat etc.



I won't attempt to address sweeping generalizations based on observation why "XML People" argue about such things more than "Other People".


-David