Re: [xml-dev] A generic approach to XML design versus a hardcodedapproac

["Liam R. E. Quin" <liam@w3.org>]

On Fri, 2016-10-07 at 18:20 +0000, Costello, Roger L. wrote:
> Hi Folks,
> Compare these two designs for modeling an event occurring on March
> 21, 2012:
> <graduation date="2012-03-21"/>
> <event type="graduation" date="2012-03-21"/>
> The second design uses a "generic approach to XML design."

I gave a talk on this at SGML '96, in which I called the attrbute-based 
approach (often akin to an informal "folksonomy") "suggestive markup";
I proposed a hybrid approach in which you start with more generic
markup and add specialized elements as you gain a firmer understanding
of what you need.

The talk predated XML, XML Schema, Schematron and RNG, however, so that
validation of attributes wasn't practical.

Liam