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

SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?

• To: "Mark Seaborne" <MSeaborne@o...>
• Subject: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
• From: "Jens Jakob Andersen, PDI" <jens.jakob.andersen@p...>
• Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 15:06:56 +0100
• Cc: <xml-dev@l...>
• Thread-index: AcGdAxQDY7ZgiyK+S1a2n5Foju6hRQAABtJQ
• Thread-topic: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?

Hi Mark

> > 
> > This is one of the hypes about XML, that I'd like to defuse. 
> > XML is not any more self-describing than CSV files. E.g.
> > 
> > <99874987kjhk>
> > 	<gnygngyasdada>
> > 		What is this?
> > 	</gnygngyasdada>
> > </99874987kjhk>
> > 
> > Case proved?
> 
> No. I know from your snippet that <gnygngyasdada> is child of
> <99874987kjhk>, and that it contains some character data. I 
> don't know what
> it means, but I can write some code to parse it, so that 
> someone who does
> know what it means can at least look at it.

If we agree on the file being a XML file.
 
> Big advance on
> 
> 99874987kjhk,gnygngyasdada,What is this?

Could be:
"99874987kjhk", "gnygngyasdada"
"","What is this?"
 
> With a comma delimited (in its most generic sense) structure 
> I don't know
> what is data, what is tag (if any), what relationship fields 
> have with each
> other, or even what constitutes a record (I have had to write 
> code to handle
> 1 record per line and multiple, fixed or variable lines per record).

Unless you have the information that it is a CSV file, and that the first line is the CSV header (just as you need to know that it is a XML file.)

What I am trying to say, is that the quote "XML is selfdescribing" is wrong and unproved.

It should maybe read: "XML has, as e.g. also CSV files and other formatted files, support for adding field descriptors to the data. If this is used in a consistent and well-documented manner, it will support the understandability of the XML or CSV files."

-Mike: Good point. I bet that the Excel XML file could be quite unreadable.

JJ

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
    • From: Gavin Thomas Nicol <gtn@r...>

• Prev by Date: Re: XML and Complex Systems (was Re: Re: An Architecture for Limericks)
• Next by Date: Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
• Previous by thread: FW: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
• Next by thread: Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread