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RE: XML in .NET - more than just SOAP?

• From: Ronald Bourret <rpbourret@h...>
• To: xml-dev@l...
• Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2000 22:24:43 +0000 (CEST)

Joshua Allen wrote:

>OK, I have looked more closely and Word's output is not entirely
>"well-formed".

[snip]

>So, while it is not perfect (and it will get better)
>it seems to me to be quite useful.  I call it XML,
>although a purist could nitpick some of the flaws.

Sorry, if a parser throws a well-formedness error when I try to parse it, 
it's not XML in any way, shape, or form.

Viewed another way, suppose I get bored one day and figure out the binary 
format of a Word document, then write a program that writes text files out 
using this format, but make a mistake somewhere and get just a few of the 
bits in the wrong order. Word will understandably refuse to parse this and, 
should I call MS support to complain, I will justifiably be laughed off the 
phone.

While I have, in general, not worried too much about MS's attempts to "do 
something useful" in those cases where XML had grey areas (e.g. using XDR 
instead of XML Schemas, requiring namespace "declarations" in DTDs), this is 
just plain WRONG. Fix it, or don't call it XML.

Unusually annoyed,

-- Ron Bourret
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