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provocations and realities (was Re: Fwd: Not using mixedconten

• From: "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl@simonstl.com>
• To: "xml-dev@lists.xml.org" <xml-dev@lists.xml.org>
• Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:28:47 -0400

On 4/8/13 11:11 AM, Fraser Goffin forwarded:
>     Simon is being argumentative and provocative in order to elicit
>     responses, and, whilst there's a grain of truth in what he says, it's
>     far from the whole story. :-)

Liam, you know me.  If I wanted to be provocative, I'd be saying 
something like "If this [RDF-tastic pile] is an improvement to XML, then 
I am a dandelion."

While yes, these claims are provocative, and I don't claim to be 
all-knowing, I am very definitely claiming that schema-centric design is 
harmful because the costs vastly outweigh the benefits, not merely to 
stir entertaining conversation.

I do have other things to do.

I am not entirely surprised that people who've spent their working lives 
with schemas and similar tools have a hard time seeing the costs.  It's 
not a matter of delusion or of evil - it's a matter of what we have 
trained ourselves to see.  That training is extremely difficult to set 
aside.

At least I'm getting a gentler reaction than Walter Perry used to get, 
though it may just be that I'm offering a milder line.

(For those who have forgotten Walter's talks or arrived after he had 
moved on, http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/05/29/perry.html is a good place 
to start.  For those who want deeper background on what is driving me to 
write these things now, see <http://www.amazon.com/dp/0199898073/> or 
<http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195032233/>.)

Thanks,
-- 
Simon St.Laurent
http://simonstl.com/

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: provocations and realities (was Re: Fwd: Notusing mixed content? Then don't use XML)
    • From: Fraser Goffin <goffinf@gmail.com>

• References:
  • Fwd: Not using mixed content? Then don't use XML
    • From: "Timothy W. Cook" <timothywayne.cook@gmail.com>
  • Re: Fwd: Not using mixed content? Then don't use XML
    • From: "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl@simonstl.com>
  • Re: Fwd: Not using mixed content? Then don't use XML
    • From: "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl@simonstl.com>
  • Re: Fwd: Not using mixed content? Then don't use XML
    • From: Liam R E Quin <liam@w3.org>
  • Re: Fwd: Not using mixed content? Then don't use XML
    • From: Fraser Goffin <goffinf@gmail.com>