[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message]

Re: "XML is just syntax" versus "Use semantic markup" (Is this

  • From: "Mukul Gandhi" <gandhi.mukul@g...>
  • To: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@m...>
  • Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 23:07:58 +0530

Re:  "XML is just syntax" versus "Use semantic markup" (Is this
I think, it would be useful to think about this subject looking at the
concept of Schema.

Schema gives meaning to the markup (or we could say, in this case
markup becomes "semantic markup").

In the absence of the Schema, markup is meaningless. Then, it is just
a syntax obeying XML well formedness constraints.

To me, all this is quite useful to represent information ...

On Sun, Mar 9, 2008 at 6:19 PM, Costello, Roger L. <costello@m...> wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> I have often heard it said: "XML is just syntax."
>
> I have equally often heard it said: "Use semantic markup."
>
> How can XML be "just syntax" and also be "semantic markup"?
>
> Is this a paradox?
>
> Let me take a go at resolving this seeming paradox:
>
> 1. Tags are indeed just syntax.  They provide a mechanism for
> structuring the data.
>
> 2. Tags are created by a specification, which define what each tag
> means.  When constructing an XML document, there may be a choice of
> tags, say <ABC> and <XYZ>, which may be used to wrap a particular datum
> (item of data).  Suppose the specification gave tag <ABC> a general
> meaning and tag <XYZ> a specific meaning. Compare:
>
>    <ABC>datum</ABC>
>
> versus
>
>    <XYZ>datum</XYZ>
>
> We say that the later is using "semantic markup."  This means: those
> applications which have been implemented to understand the tag-set will
> gain more information about 'datum' from the <XYZ> tag than from the
> <ABC> tag.
>
> Let me repeat the last sentence:
>
> "... will gain more information about 'datum' from the <XYZ> tag than
> the <ABC> tag."
>
> Hmm, sounds to me like the tags are providing more than just syntax.
> The tags are providing information/meaning/semantics about 'datum'.
>
> This paradox is unresolved in my mind.
>
> Care to take a go at resolving this paradox?
>
> /Roger



-- 
Regards,
Mukul Gandhi


[Date Prev] | [Thread Prev] | [Thread Next] | [Date Next] -- [Date Index] | [Thread Index]


PURCHASE STYLUS STUDIO ONLINE TODAY!

Purchasing Stylus Studio from our online shop is Easy, Secure and Value Priced!

Buy Stylus Studio Now

Download The World's Best XML IDE!

Accelerate XML development with our award-winning XML IDE - Download a free trial today!

Don't miss another message! Subscribe to this list today.
Email
First Name
Last Name
Company
Subscribe in XML format
RSS 2.0
Atom 0.3
 

Stylus Studio has published XML-DEV in RSS and ATOM formats, enabling users to easily subcribe to the list from their preferred news reader application.


Stylus Studio Sponsored Links are added links designed to provide related and additional information to the visitors of this website. they were not included by the author in the initial post. To view the content without the Sponsor Links please click here.

Site Map | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Trademarks
Free Stylus Studio XML Training:
W3C Member
Stylus Studio® and DataDirect XQuery ™are products from DataDirect Technologies, is a registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation, in the U.S. and other countries. © 2004-2013 All Rights Reserved.