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Re: Restrictions on existence of attributes?

• To: xml-dev@l...
• Subject: Re: Restrictions on existence of attributes?
• From: Rick Jelliffe <rjelliffe@a...>
• Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 18:12:27 +1000
• In-reply-to: <44A49A67.2040207@x...>
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Michael Champion wrote:
> As far as I can tell, the masses of developers aren't clamoring for 
> RELAX NG because they don't use any schema language except via some 
> tool, and the tools don't support it.  Even if they did the schema 
> files would just be some semi-opaque stuff in a project directory, not 
> anything most developers would care much about the syntax of.  I also 
> used to think that was cynical FUD from the tool vendors, but, ahem, 
> nobody is making much money off tools these days but customer support 
> costs bazillions. I guarantee you that upper management would insist 
> that we support RELAX NG  if anyone could make the case that it really 
> would reduce support costs but reduce XML tools revenue. That would be 
> a very easy tradeoff to make.

Another approach would be the agnostic, incremental approach.

Support XSD with tools and marketing, but supply API-level support of 
RELAX NG, Schematron and other DSDL languages as they come along, even 
if this just entails adopting an Open Source implementation.  (And 
encourage the XSD WG and ISO in rapproachment and cooperation and 
against NIH-ism.)

That requires a tiny investment, and the slimmest of business cases, 
surely. You know that people regularly have to  have resort to 
Schematron. You don't have to build it into Visual Studio or Office, 
just into .NET and IE. They may would enhance the value of the MS API 
platform and increase the chances that your API users have of success; 
whether enough traction developers for MS to supply tools for them is 
another matter.

Cheers
Rick Jelliffe

• Follow-Ups:
  • RE: Restrictions on existence of attributes?
    • From: "Stan Kitsis" <skits@m...>

• References:
  • RE: Restrictions on existence of attributes?
    • From: "Stan Kitsis" <skits@m...>
  • Re: Restrictions on existence of attributes?
    • From: Jirka Kosek <jirka@k...>
  • Re: Restrictions on existence of attributes?
    • From: Michael Champion <mchampion@x...>
  • Re: Restrictions on existence of attributes?
    • From: Jirka Kosek <jirka@k...>
  • Re: Restrictions on existence of attributes?
    • From: Michael Champion <mchampion@x...>

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