Re: [xml-dev] Do you enjoy neighborhoods where every house looksthe same

["Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl@simonstl.com>]

On 8/28/13 11:20 AM, Lauren Wood wrote:
>
> On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 7:12 AM, Simon St.Laurent <simonstl@simonstl.com> wrote:
>     Markup language standardization ranges from defining entire assembly
>     lines to smaller pieces more like the electrical box I mentioned.
>       Those come with various benefits and costs.
>
> One benefit of some house standardization is that I can hang a picture
> on the wall without worrying about running into electrical wire, since I
> can easily figure out where the wire is, even when I can't see it, by
> looking for precisely those same electrical boxes and knowing some basic
> design patterns.

Perhaps - so long as you know the standards that were used at the time 
of installation, the nature of the wiring, and are reasonably assured 
that nothing has changed (or was installed wrong in the first place).

Programmers often find code that was built to particular standards or 
patterns... wasn't.

I tend to find it easier to hang pictures by driving the nail into a 
place in the wall where I know there's wood immediately beneath.  That 
not only avoids the electrical work, it provides a sound foundation for 
the nail.

Of course, I live in a house that's had 80 years of evolution through 
changing standards, and wasn't particularly standard to begin with.

Thanks,
-- 
Simon St.Laurent
http://simonstl.com/