Re: [xml-dev] Regularity: a fundamental property of declarative

[Dimitre Novatchev <dnovatchev@gmail.com>]

Hi Roger,

It would not be correct to reason about this without a definition of
"regular" and "irregular"

Cheers,
Dimitre

On Wed, Jan 30, 2019 at 10:52 AM Costello, Roger L. <costello@mitre.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> What are the properties of “declarative”?
>
> Here’s one.
>
> Assertion #1: A key feature of declarative data is the ability of readers (both human readers and machine readers) to recognize, at a glance, the shape/topology of the data.
>
> Assertion #2: Regularity gives data a visible/parse-able shape and therefore regularity is a fundamental property of declarative.
>
> Assertion #3: Declarative is superior. Always choose declarative.
>
> Conclusion: Choose regular data over irregular data.
>
> Below is an example of regular XML-encoded data followed by an example of irregular XML-encoded data. The first is declarative and superior. Choose the former over the latter.
>
> Do you agree with my assertions, conclusion, and examples?
>
> /Roger
>
> Regular Data (declarative, preferred)
>
>
> <People>
>     <Person>
>         <Name>John</Name>
>         <Residence>Massachusetts</Residence>
>     </Person>
>     <Person>
>         <Name>Sara</Name>
>         <Residence>Illinois</Residence>
>     </Person>
>     <Person>
>         <Name>Bill</Name>
>         <Residence>California</Residence>
>     </Person>
>     <Person>
>         <Name>Lisa</Name>
>         <Residence>New Mexico</Residence>
>     </Person>
> </People>
>
> Irregular Data (inferior, avoid)
>
>
> <People>
>     <Massachusetts>
>         <Person>
>             <Name>John</Name>
>         </Person>
>     </Massachusetts>
>     <Person>
>         <Name>Sara</Name>
>         <Residence>Illinois</Residence>
>     </Person>
>     <Resident-of-California>
>         <Person>
>             <Name>Bill</Name>
>         </Person>
>     </ Resident-of-California>
>     <New-Mexico>
>         <Person>
>             <Name>Lisa</Name>
>         </Person>
>     </New-Mexico>
> </People>
>
>