> The word 'document' has received some heavy redefinition on the web
> in the last year, with more changes coming every day. 'Live'
> content is becoming more and more common - inside the HTML document
> as well as in the process generating it.
This is a very good point; it is important to note, however, that in
XML, as in full SGML, a "document" does not necessarily consist of a
single file. To my knowledge, no one has ever seriously tried to
include GIF or JPEG images inside an HTML file; we all accept that
they exist in separate files/entities, even though they form part of
the same document in the user's browser. Why should non-XML
text-based data, like scripts, not be treated the same way as non-XML
binary data?
In compound documents, XML or full SGML provides two things:
1) a high-level schema to show how the compound document fits
together (the entity structure); and
2) a method for presenting structural information (the element
structure).
It certainly makes sense to include scripts in compound documents, but
I cannot see the advantage of mixing them in with the XML markup
itself -- they are a lot cleaner and easier to maintain when they are
in a separate file.
By the way, thanks for the tip about using JavaScript in separate
files -- I will take the time to give it a proper look.
All the best,
David
--
David Megginson ak117@freenet.carleton.ca
Microstar Software Ltd. dmeggins@microstar.com
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/dmeggins/
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