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[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: An open plea to the W3C (was Re: XInclude vs SAX vs validation)
 Excuse me.. i hope i am not counted as a theoretician??? :) > Don't ask theoreticians, they find it all easy (and even if they don't > they will probably say they do as they have egos like the rest of us > and they are paid to be really smart). not all theoreticians have egos... first of all, theoreticians are *not* paid, irrespective of whether they are smart or not :) But I like and relate to Sean's request. cheers and regards - murali. On Thu, 23 Aug 2001, Sean McGrath wrote: > [Elliotte Rusty Harold] > > >I'm not disagreeing that comments shouldn't have been put in the infoset. > >However, since they are in the infoset now, they are in other specs (i.e. > >XInclude) and I think APIs should be expressive enough to allow us to > >fully implement W3C specs. > > Supporting all of XML 1.0 is completely laudable but there is a slippery > slope here that I think needs to be > pointed out. > > Here is the problem: > XML is simple - apart from all the bits that are not so simple:-) > > The not-so-simple bits are not used by the majority but are used > by disjoint bands of minorities. > > Things need to be built on top of XML (validation, linking, > styling, uniquification of names, addressing) etc. so... > > Smart people figure out to make these things support *all* of XML > 1.0 including the complex, uncommon bits > > With each new layer, supporting *all* of XML 1.0 creates more and > more complexities > > The majority, who only use the simple pieces of XML 1.0, trust > that the smart people are doing the right thing and > run with it. > > Finally, the majority, bowled over by the complexity of it all, > seek solace... > > They find it in the open arms of proprietary APIs promoted by vendors > They find it in the tools they can buy that "hide the complexity > of X*" > > They end up in the same proprietary mess they looked to XML to > extricate > themselves from! > > Maybe it is not too late. The W3C could stop for breath and find out what > pieces of XML 1.0 > the majority *really* use. Don't ask vendors - they are not a reliable > source of information. Don't ask > consultants, their business case is based on complexity. Don't ask > theoreticians, they > find it all easy (and even if they don't they will probably say they do as > they have > egos like the rest of us and they are paid to be really smart). > > Instead, ask XML users. Zoom in on the uncommonly used bits that cause the > most problems > for the ancillary specifications Work towards issuing new iterations of > the core specifications > that take things OUT rather than add stuff in. A bold, brave step that > would differentiate > W3C from all the previous tower-of-babel standards bodies. > > Do it as an experiment. Do it as a controlled fork. If it does not yield > benefits, scrap it. > > Dare to do less. That is what made the web so great in the first place. > > Do it before vested interests grab the initiative. > > Do it before it is too late. > > Sean > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > The xml-dev list is sponsored by XML.org <http://www.xml.org>, an > initiative of OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> > > The list archives are at http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/ > > To subscribe or unsubscribe from this elist use the subscription > manager: <http://lists.xml.org/ob/adm.pl> > 
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