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RE: basic qs - how is xml more flexible for exchanging data?

• To: "Tech Rams" <techmailing@y...>,"Anil Philip" <goodnewsforyou@y...>,"Michael Kay" <mike@s...>,"xml dev" <xml-dev@l...>
• Subject: RE: basic qs - how is xml more flexible for exchanging data?
• From: "Hurd, Bruce" <Bruce.Hurd@n...>
• Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 13:11:50 +1200
• Thread-index: AcW6UqtexgoepT2qS/eiRWumGTdBwwABhm5w
• Thread-topic: basic qs - how is xml more flexible for exchanging data?

The two main differences between XML and struct's is that XML doesn't
dictate the structure of the data whereas a struct does by definition.
The second main difference is that XML is self describing.  Sure you
don't get context, that would be impossible to define in an open
standard.  For example, its not XML's job to tell you what a <book />
means but it is its job to tell that it is a book.  That's description.
Where as the contents of a struct is merely a stream of bytes, there's
nothing there but the content.

These are the main reasons why XML became such a great standard.  As
soon as you define a structure you're also implying and/or limiting
implementation which reduces the inter-operability of that data.
Defining structure is the job of the data's author, not the transport
mechanism.

-Bruce


-----Original Message-----
From: Tech Rams [mailto:techmailing@y...] 
Sent: Friday, 16 September 2005 12:06 p.m.
To: Anil Philip; Michael Kay; 'xml dev'
Subject: RE:  basic qs - how is xml more flexible for
exchanging data?

I think Michael's point was precisely about binary
data - no one has issues with text/ascii data
(mostly).

How can you guarantee that who ever is receiving the
data (and whenever) will be able to reconstruct the
structure you have, given Michael's points?

-rams

--- Anil Philip <goodnewsforyou@y...> wrote:

> I dont think you understood the post - I meant when
> one transfers binary data (in a file or stream). I
> am
> not referring to C compilers and it's not about
> metadata or validation. Where are you now?
> 
> --- Michael Kay <mike@s...> wrote:
> 
> > Two C compilers on different architectures would
> > represent that structure
> > quite differently. There's no data interchange
> there
> > at all except between
> > identical machines with identical compilers
> running
> > identical applications;
> > there's no scope for attaching metadata to the
> > message; there's no scope for
> > validation... Where have you been all these years?
> > 
> > Michael Kay
> > http://www.saxonica.com/
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> 		
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