Re: [xml-dev] RE: Seduced by Markup

[Alexander Johannesen <alexander.johannesen@gmail.com>]

Sean McGrath <sean.mcgrath@propylon.com> wrote:
> Yes indeed, but why is it that so many people never learn to read the
> notation?

All metaphors and allegories aside about the complexity of notation,
I've always thought the main reason a lot of people haven't learned to
read musical notation ... is that they've never had the *need* to
learn to read the notation? Unless you want to be a professional
musician, and even then in some genres, notation isn't needed. Even an
amateur like me can enjoy the crap out of Bach's mass in B without so
much as knowing the signature of the music or how quivers are notated
or the tempo is noted.

In fact, it has to be said that markup is hence so much more readable
than musical notation, for nothing more than the linguistic hints and
semantics of element names and attributes; at least they are spelled
out in a less ambiguous way than, say, every programming language out
there where the tiniest semiotic sign is paramount to the
interpretation of the code.

Actually, I only have one gripe about XML markup specifically, and
that is the lack of commonly used HTML entities out of the box; it has
deterred a many developer away from "something written for the web,
but isn't even HTML compatible?!"


Cheers,

Alex

-- 
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