Re: XML-Data: advantages over DTD syntax? (and some wishes)
Henry S. Thompson (ht@cogsci.ed.ac.uk)
Mon, 6 Oct 97 09:45:37 BST
Peter writes:
> [Sean Mc Grath <digitome@iol.ie> on Sat, 04 Oct 1997 09:22:25 +0100]
> > However, if developers implemented DTDs via a transformation to XML-Data.....
>
> > The XML world would then have the freedom to create
> > new and better syntaxes for schemata safe in the knowledge that
> > todays tools that can process XML will process these new syntactic
> > sugars via transformation to base XML - the mother of all syntaxes.
>
> This idea has always been attractive to me; it seems to give everyone
> the flexibility they want, without imposing unnecessary restrictions.
>
> However, unless the transformations are extremely well-designed, XML
> DTDs generated in this way are not likely to be particularly
> human-readable (one of the arguments for keeping XML DTDs to begin
> with).
>
> I don't see this as a reason not to use this scheme, I just think that
> the transformations should be well thought out and well documented,
> and should have the readability of the generated DTDs as a requirement
> from the outset.
Speaking only for myself, I strongly endorse this view, am committed
to it myself, and believe it is the best recipe for sanity available
during what I see as the experimental phase of schema development we
are now embarking on.
ht