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It's the same for every language and application processor out there. Life is fast and dangerous at the ecotones. Every time we have to bolt on another language (andrew says metadata, but description to description is not data about data, but a point of view or semantic), we encounter just enough lack of fidelity to spawn an effort to encapsulate/colonize the complete semantic space. Either we get centralized control (the One Browser World phenomenon) or we accept mediocrity (simple is enough). So in effect, we spec a system or take a spec for an implemented system, watch the implementations carefully, work out what is common, then standardize with complete conformance and compliance testing. All the myth of "Internet time" introduces is the illusion something better can be done faster. That is the frustration of large scale interoperability: a choice of patience or dominance. The only stable systems are the ones that have long fixed update schedules or a lack of interest. For the end user, the web philosphy is useless. Patience and understanding what is realizable given the tendancy of the systems to diverge in the details to an extent that creates mediocrity is all they can rely on. Len http://www.mp3.com/LenBullard Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti. Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h -----Original Message----- From: Dave Winer [mailto:dave@u...] There's a lot more to say about this, for another time, perhaps another thread -- the importance of "power scripters" -- communities parked at the intersection of products. Ultimately if two products interop, neither developer is going to take responsibility for the connection betw the two (although they always feel it's the other guys job to do it). Fostering of such communities is necessary to make it work, where they exist, and the vendors are responsible, you get magic, otherwise, frustrated users.
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