> Wouldn't it be better to just allow the current API version to be queried? The
> above scheme would probably encourage a little too much "a la carte' type of
> feature support, wouldn't it? If you allow stick to being able to query what
> level of the API the parser supports, that would be a simpler, cleaner way to
> know whether the underlying parser can do what you need to do.
No, because even parsers that support level 1 (the current level)
may vary in their behavior, because non-validating parsers can
produce different things (expand external parsed entities or not,
understand ATTLISTs or not, etc.) If your application depends on
these things, you need to be able to check whether the parser you
are using does so.
And I do believe that people will replace parsers, as smaller/faster/
better ones come out, in their applications. A major impetus of
Java is to avoid monolithic apps where the user is stuck with the
app exactly as packaged.
-- 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)