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Re: Just require URLs

• From: "Jonathan Borden" <jborden@m...>
• To: "Didier PH Martin" <martind@n...>, <xml-dev@i...>
• Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 12:50:19 -0400

Didier PH Martin wrote:

>
><point of view>
>a) because a URI could be used to specify a XML name space, we can use
>either URLs and URNs because both are URIs.
>b) If we have some forward thinking on the subject, someday, this URI will
>points to a "place" containing the name space documentation. The ideal
world
>is that the documentation contains both human readable and machine
>interpretable documents.

    I agree that this would be a benefit of overloading the namespace URI.

>c) If we choose to use a URL for a name space identifier, we create
location
>dependency to our documents, If we choose URNs, the documents are then
>location independent.

    I have a quibble with this terminology. URLs need not be location
dependent. This is a function of the URL scheme or namespace. For example
suppose we invent a new location independent protocol (LIP):

    "lip:W3C/Specifications/XSLT/Version1.0"

or:

    "FPI: ...."

This would be a location independent URL. The idea remains that URLs are
URIs used to "locate" resources. If you overload the "urn" scheme with a
network protocol, it really becomes a URL regardless of its definition in
2141.

>
>Conclusion:
>URN brings more longevity to information elements contained in the
published
>document. The URN can be resolved as long as a resolver has been created to
>resolve its particular name space (URN name space). In the case of URLs any
>documentation movement leads to a break of the links and the document is no
>longer linked to its documentation. Thus, in this case, the document has a
>shorter longevity (because we cannot retreive the document vocabulary rules
>and meanings).
>

    Really what you are suggesting is a location independent URL. I agree
this is a good idea.

Jonathan Borden
http://jabr.ne.mediaone.net



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