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Re: XML as "passive data" (Re: The Browser Wars are

• To: xml-dev <xml-dev@l...>
• Subject: Re: XML as "passive data" (Re: The Browser Wars are Dead! Long Live the Browser Wars!)
• From: "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl@s...>
• Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2002 08:35:00 -0400
• In-reply-to: <A30CA329-E659-11D6-9DF2-0030657E2F34@m...>

tblanchard@m... writes:
>Based on a couple of other comments like objects "hiding away data" I 
>can see the reaction against compiler enforced encapsulation.  Its bad. 
>  Pure and simple.  Public Protected Private is a menace to modern 
>software development ...

Interesting perspective.  While I do occasionally tweak
public/protected/private for performance reasons, especially in J2ME, my
days spent in XML have made it very hard for me to consider making
anything private, and even protected requires some thought.

One of the key features of XML as a textual format is the exposure it
gives to information. While it's certainly possible to deliberately
obfuscate an XML document, I haven't seen that done in practice, and
there's certainly no compiler to enforce it.  

Giving someone an XML document says that you trust them far more than
giving someone a Java object with private data.  Recipients of XML
documents are free to do what they like with them, without the
distinctions created by public and private portions of interfaces.

It's a pretty amazing thing, I think.


-------------
Simon St.Laurent - SSL is my TLA
http://simonstl.com may be my URI
http://monasticxml.org may be my ascetic URI
urn:oid:1.3.6.1.4.1.6320 is another possibility altogether

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: XML as "passive data" (Re: The Browser Wars are Dead! Long Live the Browser Wars!)
    • From: ari@c... (K. Ari Krupnikov)
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    • From: "Alaric B. Snell" <alaric@a...>

• References:
  • Re: XML as "passive data" (Re: The Browser Wars are Dead! Long Live the Browser Wars!)
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