If I have a "header" section in my XML document, am I creating aprotocol

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

Hi Folks,

HTML has a header. It contains fields like:

	title
	script
	meta

The HTML specification prescribes how applications (e.g., browsers) should process each header field.

The IP protocol has a header. It contains fields like:

	Type of Service
	Fragment Offset
	Destination Address

The IP specification prescribes how network nodes (routers, gateways, destination host) should process each header field.

It seems to me that a header is there for a reason: to provide specific instructions to nodes. The section following the header (i.e., the body) is descriptive. But the header is prescriptive.

What do you think? When specifying an XML vocabulary which contains a "header section" should there be instructions on what actions nodes should take with the header fields?

Does the presence of a header field in an XML vocabulary turn it into a protocol, rather than merely a declarative description of structure and content?

/Roger