Re: namespaces discussion

John Cowan (cowan@locke.ccil.org)
Thu, 10 Sep 1998 13:53:59 -0400


Peter Jones wrote:

> What do you mean by compounding DTDs? I don't know whether any of my
> postings to the list have been getting through, ...but why can't the
> notion of a DTD be an utterly nebulous concept in the abstract, elements
> themselves having a namespace URIs which addresses a DTD entity for that
> particular element. Different elements validated against different
> declarations lying in dispersed DTD entities.
> Why isn't this idea getting through to anyone? (am v. frustrated!)

This may be feasible for some yet-to-be-standardized schema language,
but not for DTDs as such. "DTD" is a fixed, narrow, SGML-compatible
notion that can't be changed.

In addition, the namespace draft has laid down that the URI is
used solely for comparison, and needn't represent an existent
resource, much less a specific schema.

-- 
John Cowan	http://www.ccil.org/~cowan		cowan@ccil.org
	You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
	You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
		Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)