Re: XSchema Progress and Strategy (I)

Simon St.Laurent (SimonStL@classic.msn.com)
Sun, 21 Jun 98 20:02:06 UT


Hello again - I'm afraid that moving and then driving an extra 700 miles wiped
me out considerably more than I expected, which is why this has been an
extremely quiet week with regard to XSchema. More is certainly on the way; my
head is clearing and I no longer see road markings flying past when I close my
eyes.

We have some extremely large issues to deal with, primarily on the nested vs.
rule-based debate. The spec as it is written now uses nested structures to
represent XSchemas. Paul Prescod and Peter Murray-Rust have both suggested
the use of rule-based syntax much like that used by XSL. This has three
significant advantages in my mind:
1) Developers can reuse the structures they're creating for XSL.
2) Authors don't need to relearn the wheel when approaching XSL or XSchema.
3) The rule-based syntax seems easier to extend.

The disadvantages as I see them are:
1) The current spec and its outline will need significant revision and
reorganization.
2) I suspect the rule-based systems are a bit less intuitive than nested
structures for beginners.
3) We have no proposed DTD for a rule-based system.
4) We have until June 30 to finish this spec.

I have time this week (finally) to address these issues, if people feel they
are worthwhile. Otherwise, I'll keep working on the spec as it stands.

Simon St.Laurent
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