Re: [xml-dev] The Goals of XML at 25, and the one thing that XML now nee

[Marcus Reichardt <u123724@gmail.com>]

Hi Rick,

nice to hear you're doing well. I guess if even UK (and Israel) sees
the kind of infection rates they're seeing right now, we're in for
another lockdown season, no matter what politicians say now.

If I understand correctly, you're advocating for incorporating all
HTML/MathML entities into XML as predefined entities. But I don't
quite understand why your requirements wouldn't be met by using no
entities at all, relying entirely on encoded Unicode characters, with
the absence of entities besides the standard predefined entities (<
etc) suitably represented by the absence of a DTD/entity declarations
for a parser to take a fast code path. There's also the issue of
Unicode gaining new code points all the time for things such as emojis
as they emerge, but also for scripts that only now get integrated into
Unicode.

Best,
M. Reichardt
sgmljs.net

On 7/18/21, Rick Jelliffe <rjelliffe@allette.com.au> wrote:
> While in lock-down, I took the time to write down a little post for
> Schematron.com called "The Goals of XML at 25: and the one change that XML
> really now needs
> <https://schematron.com/2021/07/the-goals-of-xml-at-25-and-the-one-change-that-xml-really-has-needed/>"
> which people interested in the past and future of XML may find familiar but
> not irrelevant.
>
> Key passage, or twist:
>
> "*For several decades I have dabbled with methods to speed up parsing UTF-8
> and XML using SIMD and parallel parsing: my conclusion is that the approach
> I am suggesting here is the only feasible way for XML to not be sidelined
> as slow and complex. I think the lack of papers and experience
> demonstrating otherwise indicates it too.)"*
>
> Regards
> Rick
>
> (Here in Sydney we are in lockdown again, after an exiled year of almost no
> cases, Delta broke through, and we are trying to eliminate it. Taiwan
> successfully eliminated it this month, so maybe we will: elimination is a
> feasible strategy on islands, rather than just suppression. I get my 2nd
> vaccine tomorrow.)
>