[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] RE: Some random noise on rational type systems for XML
> > XML has: > > 1. Omission of an optional element. > > 2. Presence of an element having the attribute xsi:nil > > 3. Presence of an element having empty content. > > I don't see how any of these three could be interpreted > differently if the element content is defined to represent a number. > I've actually seen a system that did exactly that. The XML described the output of a complex measuring device (think SCADA). The omission of the optional element in an instance document (say, a temperature reading) meant that the device didn't have a sensor to measure that. Including the element in an instance document with the nil attribute meant that the device had the sensor but it was not reporting (turned off, malfunctioning, etc.) Including the element with empty content meant that the device had the sensor, it was (assumed to be) working, but didn't have an output for that instance document. Whether or not you think this is a good design, it's clearly an example of an XML application taking advantage of those distinctions for element content defined to represent a number.
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