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Re: If I have a "header" section in my XML document, am I crea

• From: Michael Kay <mike@saxonica.com>
• To: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@mitre.org>
• Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2015 14:26:59 +0100

Yes, many XML vocabularies have a header section or envelope containing “metadata” of some sort, and in that sense they are collapsing two layers of the protocol stack into one. SOAP is an obvious example.

Michael Kay
Saxonica

> On 14 Sep 2015, at 13:43, Costello, Roger L. <costello@mitre.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Folks,
> 
> HTML has a header. It contains fields like:
> 
> 	title
> 	script
> 	meta
> 
> The HTML specification prescribes how applications (e.g., browsers) should process each header field.
> 
> The IP protocol has a header. It contains fields like:
> 
> 	Type of Service
> 	Fragment Offset
> 	Destination Address
> 
> The IP specification prescribes how network nodes (routers, gateways, destination host) should process each header field.
> 
> It seems to me that a header is there for a reason: to provide specific instructions to nodes. The section following the header (i.e., the body) is descriptive. But the header is prescriptive.
> 
> What do you think? When specifying an XML vocabulary which contains a "header section" should there be instructions on what actions nodes should take with the header fields?
> 
> Does the presence of a header field in an XML vocabulary turn it into a protocol, rather than merely a declarative description of structure and content?
> 
> /Roger
> 
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• References:
  • If I have a "header" section in my XML document, am I creating aprotocol (with its extra requirements about processing)?
    • From: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@mitre.org>