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Re: terra incognita

• To: xml-dev@l...
• Subject: Re: terra incognita
• From: Gavin Thomas Nicol <gtn@r...>
• Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2001 12:33:09 -0500
• In-reply-to: <9A4FC925410C024792B85198DF1E97E4020E32DC@u...>
• Organization: Red Bridge Interactive, Inc.
• References: <9A4FC925410C024792B85198DF1E97E4020E32DC@u...>

On Wednesday 19 December 2001 12:15 pm, Champion, Mike wrote:
> > That wasn't it's design point. I think XML has been forced
> > into situations that it wasn't designed for, and for which it is less
> > than
>
> ideal.
>
> Ahh, but that's true of most technologies that really take off.  Think of
> HTTP.  Or computers, for that matter.  Or telephones.

I think HTTP is a good analogy, I do not think computers or telephones are as 
their essential purpose has remained unchanged.

I think a better example would be the fellow that invented a way to detect 
whether a computer was on the other end of the line for purposes of 
*answering* a phone (redirect to FAX/MODEM/person). This was abused and 
retartgetted into the wonderful mass-calling device all telemarketers use 
today...

That said, I think the *abuse* of technologies always exposes pent up demand 
for *something else*, and in general, *something else* appears to fill the 
void better than the kludges. The WWW is a pretty good example of both...
the WWW was designed to allow physicists and others to exchange information. 
It was abused to become a much more open system, but then Mosaic came along, 
and that was the "different" tool that caused the mass movement to the WWW. 
It really scratched the itch everyone had.

I think SOAP/XML-RPC/.Net etc all point to an unfulfilled need in the market 
more than anything else. People want to leverage pervasive networking, and 
want more flexible/open RPC mechanisms than CORBA et al. provide. That is 
very different from needing HTTP and XML.

• References:
  • RE: terra incognita
    • From: "Champion, Mike" <Mike.Champion@S...>

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