Re: [xml-dev] Re: Native XML Interfaces

[Kurt Cagle <kurt.cagle@gmail.com>]

Hey, Len,

I run into this a great deal with Java developers who consume XML that then gets converted to JAXB or some other code serialization. Most have at most a very rudimentary understanding of XML, usually enough to write well-formed XML but not to the point of understanding more than the very basics of XML design, usually have no understanding of XPath or XSLT, and at best VERY rudimentary XSD skills (mostly those features of XSD most likely to break their JAXB serializations). 

I'm not sure more XML education works here though. Most times its a language prejudice - they don't want to learn XML because it's not Java, or JavaScript or Ruby, and because it can't easily be broken into "dot" notations. Of course, I also think that the W3C missed a golden opportunity to create an e4x-like standard - an analog to XPath that would have fit more sympathetically into the C++/Java/JS formalisms. 

Kurt

Kurt 

Kurt Cagle
Invited Expert, XForms Working Group, W3C

Managing Editor, XMLToday.org

kurt.cagle@gmail.com

443-837-8725

On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 10:20 AM, <cbullard@hiwaay.net> wrote:

Maybe everyone shouldn't be able to deal with the "raw" XML and without a decent data dictionary, shouldn't.   But time and time again the ability to read a type definition and scree the XML saved my bacon.

I gave my current firm's (consultants for rent r us) representative a list of questions to ask people who are offering themselves up as gurus for hire.  She requested it.  The problem was taggers trying to offer themselves as data analysts and getting thrown back like bad fish a few weeks later or not making it through the interview.  XML education is a serious and I believe growing problem in the industry.

There are many XML application/vocabularies and I don't expect everyone to know all of them.  There is a big body of XML supporting software and programming or querying/database skills are required and I don't expect everyone to know all of them.

But if they can't read native XML at all, throw them back on the dock.  Basics matter.

len

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