[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Lessons learned from the XML experiment
Certainty and accuracy always have boundaries. The problems arise when 'people' do not communicate those boundaries and make assumptions about meaning. An example is the concept that is pervasive in the XML community that element names should have meaning. Wrong, you are guaranteed to have semantic conflicts in interpretation. So it is the people not XML that has problems. Other than as I said, the possibility that XML is too lax. Which I am sure is one reason why it became so popular. People are lazy and ass-u-me too much. --Tim On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 12:19 PM, Simon St.Laurent <simonstl@simonstl.com> wrote: > On 11/14/13 9:07 AM, Timothy W. Cook wrote: >> >> I must agree with Hans-Juergen. >> >> I have no idea what kind of 'junk' gets passed around in the >> publishing world. But XML DOES provide the ability to be very >> specific about data. Maybe it is too forgiving and allows too much >> optionality. >> >> I have no idea why all the 'yikes' comments followed his comment. > > > It's easy: I've learned over the years that people who believe in certainty, > especially those who believe that they can communicate certainty, are > dangerous. > > Something goes deeply wrong when people assume that it is possible to know > things precisely, to name things precisely, and to communicate things > precisely. (I'll grant that claims of precision are slightly less dangerous > than claims of accuracy.) > > I sometimes call it naive positivism, but there are other philosophical > schools that lead to the same sad place. Computers, of course, encourage > such delusions, but that is largely because they know so little about the > world. > > Uche is extra-right about URIs, of course, a corner that painfully > demonstrates these limitations again and again. > > > Thanks, > -- > Simon St.Laurent > http://simonstl.com/ > > _______________________________________________________________________ > > XML-DEV is a publicly archived, unmoderated list hosted by OASIS > to support XML implementation and development. To minimize > spam in the archives, you must subscribe before posting. > > [Un]Subscribe/change address: http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/ > Or unsubscribe: xml-dev-unsubscribe@lists.xml.org > subscribe: xml-dev-subscribe@lists.xml.org > List archive: http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/ > List Guidelines: http://www.oasis-open.org/maillists/guidelines.php -- MLHIM VIP Signup: http://goo.gl/22B0U ============================================ Timothy Cook, MSc +55 21 94711995 MLHIM http://www.mlhim.org Like Us on FB: https://www.facebook.com/mlhim2 Circle us on G+: http://goo.gl/44EV5 Google Scholar: http://goo.gl/MMZ1o LinkedIn Profile:http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothywaynecook
[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! Download The World's Best XML IDE!Accelerate XML development with our award-winning XML IDE - Download a free trial today! Subscribe in XML format
|