[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] RE: Schema vs Schema-free (was: RE: XML Binary Characterizatio
Elliotte Rusty Harold wrote: > It does not depend on whether *you* are working > with a schema. It depends on whether *everyone* > is working with the *same* schema. The assumption > that there is a single unique schema, which everyone > agrees to and adheres to is a common fallacy in the XML world. I see your point, in the abstract, however, I can't help thinking that we should be able to assume more uniformity than you suggest. For instance, if an XML document declares a namespace that is defined by a normative schema, I think that processors of the document should be able to assume that the rules defined by that schema actually apply to the document. Or, if someone creates a document that claims to conform to some specification that includes a normative schema, we should be able to assume that the rules of the schema apply in instances of the format. If we can't make these assumptions then it seems to me that XML document exchange would always require bi-lateral agreements between authors and consumers. The alternative would be unilateral decisions made by both producers and consumers that could result in widely variant interpretations of the data -- i.e. the value of any particular XML document would be akin to the tea leaves in a fortune teller's cup -- any relationship between reality and what is read would be anecdotal at best. This might work well with poetry, but I think that such interpretational freedom is probably inappropriate in many areas of XML usage. In any case, if you can't rely on a schema having force in some particular exchange, then the wise implementor might choose something like X.finfo which does not rely on schema information but still provides some compactness and speed-of-parsing benefits. bob wyman
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