Re: MS XML parser only works with IE...

Paul Prescod (papresco@technologist.com)
Wed, 26 Nov 1997 13:15:33 -0500

Shibl Mourad wrote:
>
> Jon Bosak wrote:
>
> > This is a license to repeat the browser wars of the last three years
> > and hold users hostage to particular software packages.
>
> I know that I am going to be hated for saying this, but the browser wars
> was a phenomenal success and prompted the development of excellent and
> useful technology very rapidely.

Yes, competition is good. But proprietary extensions like those made to
HTML *retard* competition by raising the bar for new participants.

> Compare this with standards first technology (eg SGML) where the rate of
> progress is much slower and the end benefits to the user (not the
> devloper) much smaller.

Please back up this statement. Do we consider a Fortune 500 company
slashing their technical writing budget "a user"? Of would we call the
individual technical writers, who can reduce duplication, find
information faster and reuse it more effectively "the user."

In either case, how would you argue that SGML, Java, C++, IPNG, CORBA
and other "standards first" technologies have "few benefits to the
user."

Paul Prescod