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Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?

• To: xml-dev@l...
• Subject: Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
• From: Ronald Bourret <rpbourret@r...>
• Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 23:34:20 -0800
• References: <83ZYEAYV95C0XUSGAOINSOION832W.3c42e858@MChamp> <E16R2v9-00082N-00@s...> <3C4664B6.317D4E54@r...> <E16R5md-0004ok-00@s...>

Gavin Thomas Nicol wrote:
> > A lot of it also has to do with simplicity, both perceived and
> > actual. S-expressions are not simple, at least not to the man on the
> > street.
> 
> And XML is?

At least perceived to be simpler than S-expressions.

> S-expressions are probably easier to write tools for, and
> as descriptive as XML.

That might be, but they're harder to approach in the first place. I
admit to being thoroughly ignorant of S-expressions, but when I looked
at a few examples on the Web, my reaction was, "Oh, this looks like a
programming language. I wonder how you use it?"

On the other hand, when I first looked at XML (or, to be fair, HTML,
which was my first markup language), I had no such problems. It was very
easy to read and, because of the tags (which, of course, aren't
self-describing ;) guess at what would happen when you fed it to a
browser.

The simplicity may be deceptive, but it helps [expletive deleted] in the man on the
street.

> Of course, XML wins because the tools already
> exist...

Yep, due in no small part to lots of us being [expletive deleted] in by apparent
simplicity :)

-- Ron

• References:
  • Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
    • From: Mike Champion <mc@x...>
  • Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
    • From: Gavin Thomas Nicol <gtn@r...>
  • Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
    • From: Ronald Bourret <rpbourret@r...>
  • Re: SV: SV: XML=WAP? And DOA?
    • From: Gavin Thomas Nicol <gtn@r...>

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