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Re: ConciseXML arguments

• To: "Mike Plusch" <mplusch@c...>,"xml-dev" <xml-dev@l...>
• Subject: Re: ConciseXML arguments
• From: "Alaric B. Snell" <alaric@a...>
• Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 14:55:34 +0000
• In-reply-to: <00e201c2bfe3$9118d3c0$6601a8c0@n...>
• References: <00e201c2bfe3$9118d3c0$6601a8c0@n...>

On Sunday 19 January 2003 17:52, Mike Plusch wrote:
> Out of the 50 email messages about
> ConciseXML, almost all of the comments
> have been of the sort:
> "but ConciseXML is not XML 1.0!".
>
> Although this is a true statement,
> how about any comments on the two
> key problems that ConciseXML fixes that
> are reoccuring issues across the industry.
>
> 1. XML 1.0 is verbose and is not suitable
>    for many applications that people would
>    like to use it for.  People invent new
>    syntax all the time to avoid XML 1.0.
>    For example, XPATH, XQuery, string
>    encodings, CSV data, etc.
>
> 2. There is not a single way in XML 1.0 to
>    represent data fields that have a key and value
>    where the key can be any type and the value
>    can be any type.


Use elements for everything and have no distinction between 
properties-of-this-object and nested-object :-)

Or don't nest objects, treat it like an address space:

<objectPool root="SAKFDLSFDAN">

<object id="SAKFDLSFDAN" type="Person">
  <field name="Name" type="String" value="Alaric Snell" />
  <field name="FaveFood" type="Food" value="SP3MDFNDFE" />
</object>

<object id="SP3MDFNDFE" type="Food">
  ....
</object>

</objectPool>

It's a bit messy, but it works, it enforces the semantic distinctions, and it 
also rather neatly allows for an arbitrary (cyclic!) graph of 
interconnections rather than hierarchial single-ownership.

Sadly, it's not very nice to look at in XML; I prefer the s-expression 
approach myself *wicked grin* :-)

(Person
     Name: "Alaric Snell"
 FaveFood: (Food ...))

ABS

-- 
A city is like a large, complex, rabbit
 - ARP

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    • From: "Rick Jelliffe" <ricko@a...>
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• References:
  • ConciseXML arguments
    • From: "Mike Plusch" <mplusch@c...>

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