[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message]

Re: Serializations and data structures (was Re: Topic MapsonSQL)

• From: David Brownell <db@E...>
• To: xml-dev@i...
• Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 08:54:15 -0800

Lars Marius Garshol wrote:
> 
> Well, you can't very well transmit the data model itself between computers
> or down through time. In other words: you must have the serialization
> syntax. The question is: is an explicit specification of the data model
> of any use?
> 
> Tim seems to be saying no, claiming that it is 'ephemeral'.
> 
> You + Len + Eliot seem to be claiming that without it the chance that we
> don't interpret the syntax the same way is simply too great.
> 
> As the argument stands it looks like checkmate to me.

Because in fact the syntax and the data model are isomorphic
in any good design.

The disagreements come (IMHO) when the system isn't quite so neat
as we'd like to see, so that the data model or the syntax have
"extra" information.  Which is the truth?  This is a pragmatic
question in my book.  I tend to believe that specs get out of
sync with reality in any successful system, so I've got a bias
towards believing the actual data, rather than a version of its
spec which is probably out of date ... :-)

- Dave

xml-dev: A list for W3C XML Developers. To post, mailto:xml-dev@i...
Archived as: http://www.lists.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/xml-dev/
To (un)subscribe, mailto:majordomo@i... the following message;
(un)subscribe xml-dev
To subscribe to the digests, mailto:majordomo@i... the following message;
subscribe xml-dev-digest
List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (mailto:rzepa@i...)

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: Serializations and data structures (was Re: Topic MapsonSQL)
    • From: len bullard <cbullard@h...>

• Prev by Date: Re: MIME namespace...
• Next by Date: Re: MIME namespace...
• Previous by thread: Are there any XML DOM tree to HTML DOM tree converters?
• Next by thread: Re: Serializations and data structures (was Re: Topic MapsonSQL)
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread