DOCBOOK-APPS: Re: SGML vs XML

[Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>]

/ Yann Dirson <ydirson@users.sourceforge.net> was heard to say:
|> The proposed linking extensions will add XLink-namespaced attributes
|> more-or-less throughout. That works fine in SGML, until someone uses a
|> different xmlns declaration for the XLink namespace in different parts
|> of the same document.
|
| Why should it be a problem ?  That's something an XML author could
| want to do, but that would just not be available to SGML authors.  Or
| do I miss the point ?

I didn't speak clearly. The issue isn't really SGML vs XML here, it's
DTD validation.

You can't make this work:

  <section>...
    <para xmlns:xlink="...">
      <emphasis xlink:href="...">...</emphasis>
    </para>
    <para xmlns:xl="...">
      <emphasis xl:href="...">...</emphasis>
    </para>
  </section>

You can make either prefix (xl: or xlink:) work in any given document,
but as soon as you mix them, DTD validation is out the window.

                                        Be seeing you,
                                          norm

-- 
Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com>      | Any bureaucracy reorganized to
http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/ | enhance efficiency is
Chair, DocBook Technical Committee | indistinguishable from its
                                   | predecessor.