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Re: Wikipedia on XML

• From: Michael Ludwig <milu71@gmx.de>
• To: 'XML Developers List' <xml-dev@lists.xml.org>
• Date: Sat, 8 Aug 2009 00:39:55 +0200

Michael Kay schrieb am 07.08.2009 um 23:17:25 (+0100):
> > 
> > Despite the L in XML, syntax alone does not constitute a language.
> 
> Agreed.

I also agree :-)

> > It's only a language if there are words. XML doesn't define words. 
> 
> I think it does define words: words like "<", "</", "<!--", and
> "<!CDATA[", and sentential forms like "<"...">", "<!--"..."-->", and
> so on. 

With the exception of "<!CDATA[" (which, just like the comment
delimiters, looks suspiciously DTD-ish to me), these words can't be
easily pronounced.

But even if they could, I wouldn't think of them as words. They arrange
parts of sentences, they're a structural skeleton, maybe not totally
dissimilar to punctuation.

It's a bit like "One man's data is another man's metadata", so you could
take either view, but I think "syntax" fits better than "language".

-- 
Michael Ludwig

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: Alexander Johannesen <alexander.johannesen@gmail.com>
  • RE: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: "Michael Kay" <mike@saxonica.com>

• References:
  • Re: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: Tim Bray <Tim.Bray@Sun.COM>
  • Re: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo@ibiblio.org>
  • RE: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: "Michael Kay" <mike@saxonica.com>
  • Re: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo@ibiblio.org>
  • RE: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: "Michael Kay" <mike@saxonica.com>
  • Re: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: Elliotte Rusty Harold <elharo@ibiblio.org>
  • RE: Wikipedia on XML
    • From: "Michael Kay" <mike@saxonica.com>