Re: [xml-dev] XML attributes are weird

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

On 12/21/13 4:11 PM, Michael Kay wrote:
> Attributes betray the origins of XML as a document markup language.
> The text nodes contain the content, the attributes contain the
> information used for formatting the text.
This is broadly right.  I'm not sure that "betray" is the right word, 
and I wouldn't limit it to formatting.  However, the presence of 
additional information within the element structure certainly makes it 
easier to annotate a flow of text without having to modify the original 
flow.

> For a language designed for data interchange, the attribute/element
> split would be nonsense. But for a document markup language, it makes
> eminent sense.
Yes.  I can imagine cases where the attribute/element split could be 
useful for data, but they are, well, more fanciful, mostly about 
annotation after other patterns of use are established.

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