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XML Primer Re: TECHWR-L Premium Jobs, Events, and Announcements
Subject:XML Primer Re: TECHWR-L Premium Jobs, Events, and Announcements From:eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 5 May 2005 12:07:36 -0400
"techwr-l owner" <techwr-l-owner -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> wrote on 05/05/2005
04:30:00 AM:
> SITE UPDATE: An XML Primer for Technical Communicators: Part One
> www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/magazine/technical/xml_primer_part1.html
While a good article over all why are the same old semi-accurate beliefs
perpetuated?
>> XML is a metalanguage used to create other languages and protocols.
It's important
>> to understand that every time you design a new kind of XML document,
you are creating
>> a new language. For example, if you design an XML document for online
help, you've just
>> created a new online-help language -- an OHML so to speak. In fact,
many industries
>> have already developed their own XML-based languages.
Confusing at best. Designing an XML based language/structure or
application from scratch is designing a new XML compliant language. The
only way designing a document would create a new language is if you
developed your tags ?on-the-go? and aimed simply at a creating well-formed
document would be designing a XML compliant language.
>> Just for the record, XML is neither SGML (Standard Generalized Markup
Language)
>> nor HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Without getting into XML's
history, which
>> you can find in many other places, I'll just say that SGML is the
parent of XML
>> and HTML. As siblings, both XML and HTML have complimentary roles in
data
>> exchange and on the Web.
Not true. XML and HTML are NOT ?siblings? of SGML. HTML is an SGML
compliant language, or an SGML application. HTML is not a metalanguage
like XML. XML was originally a subset of SGML and is now a superset of
SGML. XML was not "easier" to USE than XML. It was easier to program
parsers and implement fully compliant systems. The XML addendum to the
SGML spec essentially eliminated those articles that the majority of SGML
compatible yet non-compliant systems failed to implement.
It can be argued that the eliminated functions made it easier for
structure designers and end users to design and use tagged languages.
Their elimination shifted the task from programming to design (inclusions
and exclusions for example).
In the intervening years, with the buzz surrounding XML, many add-on
specifications have boosted XML above and beyond SGML, yet as they are
separate specs systems can be XML compliant without necessarily
implementing all the complementary specifications.
<<XML separates content from format. This basic premise drives the design
of XML documents.>>
Not true. Format and content are separated only when the designers strive
to implement the separation. The following at least discusses that the
design is a state of mind for the designer and not an inherent requirement
of XML. There is no rule in XML to stop you from using an <italic>
element.
The rest seems admirable. Good job Sean.
It?s just that without dispelling some of the common myths, and
underlining the fact that all the miraculous gains often attributed to XML
are in fact the result of design and implementation effort and not
inherent with the use of XML, I get a little irritated.
So don?t take the criticism the wrong way. <G>
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