Designing information for eternity

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

Hi Folks,

Information is eternal.

Software to process information is fleeting -- today it's one software package, tomorrow it's another.

Free your information from being optimized for, and specific to, any one program.

I think that perspective is right: data is primary ... and eternal. 

That perspective gives me the warm comfort that my work will endure long after I'm gone. That is quite satisfying.

Lately I had lost my way and thought that software was primary. You folks have helped me regain the proper perspective, for which I am very thankful.

But does the world have that perspective?

XML has been around for 15 years. Are there any XML documents that are 15 years old  and are still useful and being actively used? Will they be used 50 years from now? Does the web community design XML for eternity? Do *you* design XML for eternity?

/Roger