[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: XML=WAP? And DOA?
---- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Champion" <mc@x...> > >Why restrict ourselvs to 'one markup language, that fits > all' ? > > Metcalfe's Law -- the value of a technology rises with the > square of the number of users. To some extent, costs of > "forcing square pegs into round holes" are outweighed by > economies of scale, familiarity, tool availability, etc. For > example, let's say that I had some data I needed to exchange, > and YAML or Chunks was just perfect for my needs whereas XML > was overkill. BUT the folks on the other end would have to > be educated on what YAML/Chunks is all about (whereas they > have had XML shoved in their faces for years now), would have > to be supplied with tools (XML comes "for free" with every > platform), so it would probably be cheaper and easier to do > it clumsily with XML than elegantly with YAML/chunks. > > XML doesn't restrict the alternatives, but its success makes > them less and less viable EVEN WHEN THEY ARE BETTER SUITED TO > A SPECIFIC TASK. I don't see any problem with that. For a very long time, developers were spending countless hours, tracing bugs in malloc / free and *ptr++ code ( the smart ones have written plenty of libraries that would help them in tracing those bugs. Still - pretty much useless activity). As a result, developers got *so* frustrated with that activity, that it was very easy for them to understand why garbage collection ( which is not an obvious concept, BTW ) is 'the way to go'. The more people will hit their heads trying to process XML with standard APIs - the easeir it would be to make a next step. I'm almost sure that somebody tried to make a next step already ( well, YAML tried for sure ), I'm afraid that we just don't know. I'm sorry for repeating myself, but XSLScript ( and XQuery ;-), is *mixing* non-xml-ish syntax with XML. Of course, the resulting mix is no longer XML. But it is *very* handy *because* it is not XML. . And how do you call the resulting mix ( with < and with { ) Isn't it ... just another markup language? ;-) Perhaps, XML ++ is already here. There were some libraries (in C) implemeting garbage collection long time before Java, but C developers were too bisy, writing their 'malloc / free' code to notice them. > >That would be also the right thing to do! > > Worse is better, sigh. Not many people like that fact, but > even fewer have prospered by betting against it. Yep. Rgds.Paul.
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