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Re: Syntax and semantics

  • From: "Dave Winer" <dave@u...>
  • To: <xml-dev@x...>
  • Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 01:50:33 -0700

syntax and semantics
David, this came up at the xml protocols shakedown yesterday at www9, and
i've never understood how it can work. At some point human beings must agree
to something. From there it's a matter of saying something is equivalent to
what they agreed to. So bfd. You have the equivalent of a #define. Unless
I'm missing something which is why I'm posting this message. Please help me
understand where the rocket science is here. Dave


----- Original Message -----
From: "David Galbraith" <david@m...>
To: <xml-dev@x...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2000 12:13 PM
Subject: RE: Syntax and semantics


> > Tim Berners-Lee wrote:
> >
> > > In a distributed system, the semantics must be carried by the message.
> >
> > W. E. Perry wrote:
> >
> > No. Content is carried by the message, expressed in the agreed
> > syntax. The only case in which a message may be said to carry semantics
is
> where there is
> > agreement (if only implicitly) beforehand that particular
> > syntactic constructs shall be treated as conveying particular (agreed
and
> fixed)
> > semantics.
>
> Historically, EDI trading partners have had to sit down and agree message
> implementations before they can exchange messages and extract meaning,
even
> when there is an agreed standard to map to in the middle.
>
> On the Internet ad hoc relationships will be set up to exchange messages,
> sitting down beforehand is not an option. It is this that requires that
the
> semantics be carried by the message. This doesn't mean that it is easy,
> however. Either everyone has to speak the same language or an interpreter
in
> the middle has to speak all languages.
>
> DG
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> David Galbraith - Chief Architect
> Moreover.com - the webfeed company
> david@m...
> 415-577-8828 (US)
> 0777-565-8880 (UK)
> favorite webfeed:
> http://www.moreover.com/xml
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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