[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Tags and Types (was Re: Re: maps)
> Uche Ogbuji wrote: > > > > > I see no reason why the exact same provision cannot be made in the > case of > > > > > > > > <date>2002-08-06</date> > > > > > > > > In the schema, you can say: > > > > > > > > "A date formatted as specified in ISO-8601" > > > > > > yup. but this value _is_ tagged, it's not just a string. > > > > "Just a string" is the heart of this entire argument, and not a given > premise. > > In the end, if it can be expressed in XML, it is "just a string". The > magic > > is in the interpretation, and as long as you have the full tools for > > interpretation, I don't see how gung-ho tagging is any less ambiguous, or > more > > valuable in any other respect, than the use of untagged content. The tags > can > > themselves be the full tools for interpretaion, but in this thread we are > > looking at cases where this is not necessary, because of convention. > Geospace > > and dates are the example. > > And my claim is that tagging the data _reduces_ the ambiguity. Now you may > claim that there is no ambiguity in which case you can interpret your > (non-XML) strings. My claim is that if there is ambiguity, tagging reduces > it. > > > > > > > Besides the vast majority of Americans write: > > > > > > <date>02-03-2004</date> > > > > > > and so when you have different specs that start mixing the order of > years, > > > months, days it _is_ ambiguous. If you write out the date as is often > seen > > > in legal documents it is the equivalent of the marked up version: > > Where is the schema in the above example? I don't see one. I see only > > <date>02-03-2004</date> > > Now we might use the <date> tag to somehow find a schema but suppose the > naked > > 02-03-2004 > > where is the schema? Granted if you have _already ascertained_ that this > value is typed a schema might not be necessary, but is that the case here? > > > > > No. It is not the slightest bit ambiguous because the schema > disambiguates > > it. Your example also needs a schema to disambiguate it (as Joe pointed > out, > > you don't state whether it's CE or BCE), so I still don't consider it less > > ambiguous. > > Again, what schema? The one that says that your date is CE and not BCE. If there is none, you have big problems. > Suppose the string "10". What does it represent? > > a) a title of a movie > b) a decimal age > c) a binary number? > > it might be any of the above. Yes. And...? > > I think Joe made a killer point with his mention that you probably don't > write > > <quantity><hundreds>1</hundreds><tens>4</tens><ones>4</ones></quantity> > > I missed the point of this one. All numbers I've seen writted (unlike dates) > are written right to left in increasing significance. Seems you want to miss the point :-) So because you posted one example that you felt had to do with the order of slots in a structure you assume every example must? That's the only thing that needs to be specified in lexical representations? Whatever. I'm off this one. We'll just have to agree to disagree. -- Uche Ogbuji Fourthought, Inc. http://uche.ogbuji.net http://4Suite.org http://fourthought.com Track chair, XML/Web Services One Boston: http://www.xmlconference.com/ Basic XML and RDF techniques for knowledge management, Part 7 - http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-think12.html Keeping pace with James Clark - http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/libra ry/x-jclark.html Python and XML development using 4Suite, Part 3: 4RDF - http://www-105.ibm.com/developerworks/education.nsf/xml-onlinecourse-bytitle/8A 1EA5A2CF4621C386256BBB006F4CEC
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