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RE: Markup perspective not code (wasRE: Re: URIs, co

• To: "'Aaron Skonnard'" <aarons@d...>, "'Tim Bray'" <tbray@t...>, "'Simon St.Laurent'" <simonstl@s...>
• Subject: RE: Markup perspective not code (wasRE: Re: URIs, concrete)
• From: Doug Rudder <drudder@d...>
• Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2002 15:34:21 -0500
• Cc: xml-dev@l...

> Simon St.Laurent wrote:
> 
> > > To the extent that programmers have influenced the development of
XML
> > > since version 1.0, I think the impact has been severely negative.
>
> Tim Bray responded:
>
> > Too simple I think.  Particularly given that almost all of the
> > advantages of XML over SGML were based on the principle of "leave out
> > everything except what programmers actually understand and use." -Tim
Aaron Skonnard Responded:
>
> I agree with Tim here and have a hard time seeing how XML is a useful
> *technology* to anyone but "programmers". Users of "markup" (who are not
> devs) are simply using pre-defined vocabularies defined by programmers.

This is a two-edged sword that cuts between the document-centric and
data-centric views of XML. Is an XML instance structured document content or
a data set? It seems as though the answer could be: both.

The idea that markup users "are simply using pre-defined vocabularies
defined by programmers" is only partially true. Depending on what type of
content is being defined, it may well be that the users -- or subject matter
experts -- play a significant role in defining those vocabularies. This is
especially true if the vocabulary runs deeper than just structural elements
and contains semantic or content-based element definitions. It is true that
the dev is the one who has to construct the final DTD/Schema, but do not
underestimate the value of subject matter experts in developing a vocabulary
that accurately reflects the content and structure of a given DTD/Schema.

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    • From: Mike Haarman <mhaarma@s...>
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    • From: "Aaron Skonnard" <aarons@d...>

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