[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: The Syntax is API Fallacy
David Brownell wrote: >David Megginson wrote: >> >> Steven R. Newcomb writes: >> >> > The "syntax is API" fallacy is a well-intentioned simplifying >> > assumption that, instead of simplifying, creates complexity and >> > significantly reduces human productivity. >> >> Just so. When we're working in the database world, it should be quite >> easy to explain the place of structured markup by referring to the >> different layers ... > >You know, I was thinking of commenting on this same fallacy from the >network protocol world. The "Interchange Model" fits into part of >that ... protocols involve interactions though, and they're not just >request/response models in the way APIs often are made out to be. > First, let me preface this by commenting that I am a proponent of layering, and there is much useful insight gained by layer analysis in system design. That being said, the RPC model, now the distributed object model defines a specific mapping between a syntax layer above the network layer (e.g. DCE-RPC/NDR over TCP/IP) which defines a direct correlation between the "API" generated by an IDL compiler and network PDUs. So the 7 layer OSI model can be applied to systems design. Where does XML fit into this equation? XML-RPC replaces NDR PDU representation with XML PDU representation. E.g. 1) transport = TCP/IP 2) protocol = HTTP (POST), 3) PDU is a MIME message of content-type: text/xml or application/xml and whose contents are an XML document Via this mapping, one can *compile* IDL e.g. CORBA or DCOM into an HTTP/XML binding. HTTP/XML replaces the IIOP or DCE-RPC. This is what is known as XML-RPC. This formalism is useful for distributed object calls where the objects maintain their own distributed identity (e.g. a URI) and communicate via network PDUs (so the API call *does* map onto a request-response at the HTTP procotol level). Another method is to send 'copies' of objects over the network. Is is called 'marshal by value' (MBV). XMOP (see http://jabr.ne.mediaone.net/xmop.htm) describes a method to MBV Java and COM objects via XML. In general when MBV is employed, the object has a 'save' and 'load' method that serializes the object to a stream. The contents of this stream can just as easily be an arbitrary XML document. In this case, the XML document IS EXACTLY the network wire level representation of the object. Regarding the DOM: A DOM object is a special case object whose serialized format is an arbitrary XML document. Other objects (e.g. user object) may choose to serialize their state into an XML stream directly, or via code reuse, employ a parser object to assist with this serialization. SAX and DOM objects are two types of parsers. Hence one type of object serialization implementation may choose: load(DOMDocument x) and save(DOMDocument y) as a method to implement persistence. An advantage of this approach is that it allows the same implementation to be used for both network marshalling as well as storage into a database which provides a DOM wrapper. If databases arrive which support the SAX interface, this too would provide the same benefit of code reuse to the object implementor. API, Syntax Protocol etc describe different layers in a system. When well known/standard interfaces are developed to link different layers in a system, system developers can concentrate on the important tasks of system design and object analysis and allow the plumbing to do its job. The Grove formalism is one mechanism of converting between serialization formats (e.g. XML) and an object API (e.g. the DOM). IDL is another mechanism to convert between object APIs (e.g. interfaces) and network protocols (e.g. HTTP/XML, DCE-RPC and/or IIOP). What I am still wrestling with is where RDF sits in this picture e.g. does it describe objects better than IDL? Does it describe systems better than UML? (perhaps!!)Does it describe graphs better than XML+XSL/XPointer+XLink? In the continuum between object and document, what the heck is a 'resource' anyways? What I am waiting for is a mechanism to 'compile' or bind RDF into a set of Java, COM and/or CORBA interfaces (clearly this ought be possible). In the distributed object world, the interface (which here is called the 'API') is primary and the network plumbing and serialization format is a detail to be taken care of by the system. In the document world, the serialization is primary and the API is merely a mechanism to allow access to the data. Clearly both views are important and ought to be equally incorporated into the 'new world view'. I call this 'Web centric distributed computing' for lack of a better catch phrase. Jonathan Borden http://jabr.ne.mediaone.net xml-dev: A list for W3C XML Developers. To post, mailto:xml-dev@i... 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