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Re: Postel's law, exceptions

• To: Michael Champion <mc@x...>
• Subject: Re: Postel's law, exceptions
• From: Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo@m...>
• Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 08:58:16 -0500
• Cc: 'xml-dev@l... ' <xml-dev@l...>
• In-reply-to: <84A17744-4621-11D8-8ADE-000A95CCC59E@x...>
• References: <15725CF6AFE2F34DB8A5B4770B7334EE03F9F139@h...><84A17744-4621-11D8-8ADE-000A95CCC59E@x...>

At 6:37 PM -0500 1/13/04, Michael Champion wrote:


>That poses a bit of a problem for the XML community -- is the 
>rational response to "fix" the bits of XML that people stumble over 
>[awaiting shrieks from the people who shot down XML 1.1],

A patently false slander. The objections to XML 1.1 were that it was 
"fixing" things no one was actually stumbling over, and indeed making 
breakage and stumbling more likely in the future. If an XML 1.2 were 
introduced that actually improved XML, then a rational decision would 
need to be made comparing the benefits it offered vs. the cost of the 
transition. The problem with XML 1.1 was that this analysis was never 
made. Indeed several players argued that it was morally repugnant to 
even consider doing a cost-benefit analysis. Furthermore, in my 
judgement the net benefit was negative even if the cost of transition 
had been zero.

Now if you show us an XML 1.2 that is a genuine improvement over XML 
1.0, then we can judge it on its own merits. Tim Bray's Skunkworks 
proposal might be a good place to start.
-- 

   Elliotte Rusty Harold
   elharo@m...
   Effective XML (Addison-Wesley, 2003)
   http://www.cafeconleche.org/books/effectivexml
   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0321150406/ref%3Dnosim/cafeaulaitA

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    • From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@i...>
  • Re: Postel's law, exceptions
    • From: Michael Champion <mc@x...>

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