=?utf-8?Q?Re=3A_=5Bxml-dev=5D_The_semantics_of_an_XML_document_is?==?utf

[Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>]

Semantics represents an agreement between the author and the recipient of a text to attach a particular meaning to a set of symbols.

If the author and recipient agree that <title>Jam doughnut</title> means "We're expecting bad weather tomorrow", then that's what it means.

You might choose syntax such that readers of the message can guess the semantics, or you might choose syntax to make this difficult, it's up to you. With extreme tag abuse, as in my real-world example of the news agency, your airplane-flight message might mean "Your bill for January is $500".)

Either way, the meaning of the message is defined by some agreement external to the message itself.

Michael Kay
Saxonica

> On 9 Jan 2022, at 14:05, Roger L Costello <costello@mitre.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Folks,
> 
> I have often heard (on this list) that:
> 
> 	"XML is just syntax"
> 
> Do you agree that XML is just syntax?
> 
> If so, then this XML document:
> 
> <airplane-flight>
>    <duration units="hours">1</duration>
>    <speed units="kilometers-per-hour">500</speed>
> </airplane-flight>
> 
> has no meaning (semantics). It is just a linear sequence of characters.
> 
> Do you agree with that? 
>