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Re: Re: RDDL -- How would you design it?

• To: <xml-dev@l...>
• Subject: Re: Re: RDDL -- How would you design it?
• From: Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo@m...>
• Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 09:54:00 -0500
• In-reply-to: <5.1.0.14.0.20020122112231.00bbd2b0@p...>
• References: <20020121142932.A31562@d...><575CBD83AE7DD411A23500B0D049C2F941A44D@SRVSOCRATE><20020121142932.A31562@d...><5.1.0.14.0.20020122112231.00bbd2b0@p...>

At 11:27 AM -0500 1/22/02, G. Ken Holman wrote:

>>>Class:
>>>    This is a collection of documents which are
>>>    somehow related.  A concrete implementation
>>>    of a class could be a namespace URI; but
>>>    not all namespace URIs are classes.
>>
>>This does not coincide with any of the customary meanings of the 
>>word "class" I'm familiar with. I suggest using a different word 
>>for this thing.
>
>Quoting SGML ISO 8879-1986 Section 4.102:
>
>   Document Type:  A class of documents having similar characteristics;
>                   for example, journal, article, technical manual, or
>                   memo.
>

This defines a document type as a certain class. It does not define 
the word class to have the meaning you claim. Nor does it indicate 
how a namespace URI *is* a collection of documents. This definition 
indicates that the words "Document Type" are a closer fit to this 
definition than the word class.

I can see using the word "class" in its mathematical meaning or its 
OO meaning. Any other meaning you might come up with is just going to 
confuse the intended audience. (And honestly I'm not 100% convinced 
that using the formal mathematical definition would be OK, given how 
entrenched the OO definition is.)
-- 

+-----------------------+------------------------+-------------------+
| Elliotte Rusty Harold | elharo@m... | Writer/Programmer |
+-----------------------+------------------------+-------------------+
|          The XML Bible, 2nd Edition (Hungry Minds, 2001)           |
|              http://www.ibiblio.org/xml/books/bible2/              |
|   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0764547607/cafeaulaitA/   |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
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|  Read Cafe con Leche for XML News: http://www.ibiblio.org/xml/     |
+----------------------------------+---------------------------------+

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: Re: RDDL -- How would you design it?
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• References:
  • Re: RDDL -- How would you design it?
    • From: "Clark C . Evans" <cce@c...>
  • Re: Re: RDDL -- How would you design it?
    • From: "G. Ken Holman" <gkholman@C...>

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