RE: Make implicit structures explicit

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

Hi Folks,

Thank you very much for your interesting responses.

Your responses have surprised me.

Consider this mathematical equation:

	3 + 2 * 6

I think most people would agree that it is useful (even best practice) to add symbols to that equation to make explicit the order of evaluation:

	3 + (2 * 6)

How is that different from adding symbols to make explicit the order of aircraft transitions: 

<aircraft-approach-procedure>
    <transition step="2">Enter glide slope</transition>
    <transition step="3">Correct for wind conditions</transition>
    <transition step="1">Contact control tower</transition>
</aircraft-approach-procedure>

Aren't both examples of upconversion (making implicit information explicit)? 

Isn't upconversion considered valuable? 

In fact, isn't upconversion considered to be an unstated, fundamental tenet of XML?

/Roger