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> Without IDs, XML can only serialize trees. > With IDs, it can serialize arbitrary graphs > in a fairly application-independent way, > at least within a single document. > This is often an important facility. An application that knows the schema of the document can view it as a graph, without depending on the parser to have detected IDs and IDREFs (example: HTML file and browser). Can you give an example of generic application or utility (one that doesn't a priori know the schema of the document) which needs to treat the document as a graph? I suppose there are layering scenarios where some lower generic layer does something 'directed-graph-ish' for the application layer ... in that case it would need some ID/IDREF knowledge. In fact for any schema-aware processing you need to have awareness of that part of the schema -- is it the case that ID/IDREF is more important than other schema-dependent features? I notice that most of this thread has been about ID-ness, not about IDREF-ness. To the extent that URI fragment addressing works, the web itself is a directed graph; that seems to be consistent with a lot of intents including the intent of URI fragment. The extent to which could work seems to be HTML + schema-or-dtd-defined XML - is that correct? Can you give an example of where it needs to work in a different extent? Jim --------------------------- Jim Theriot mailto:Jim.Theriot@p... POSC -- Energy eStandards 9801 Westheimer, Suite 450 Houston TX USA 77042 +1 713 267 5109 : phone +1 713 784 9219 : fax --------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: John Cowan [mailto:jcowan@r...] Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 7:52 AM To: James Clark Cc: xml-dev@l... Subject: Re: So maybe ID isn't a problem after all. James Clark wrote: [magisterial summary deleted] > (B) The other choice we can make is to say that ID-ness is important. I agree with this view, and on primarily data-centric grounds. Without IDs, XML can only serialize trees. With IDs, it can serialize arbitrary graphs in a fairly application-independent way, at least within a single document. This is often an important facility. > The only solution that I've seen that works with choice (B) > is xml:idatt(s). I agree. -- Not to perambulate || John Cowan <jcowan@r...> the corridors || http://www.reutershealth.com during the hours of repose || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan in the boots of ascension. \\ Sign in Austrian ski-resort hotel ----------------------------------------------------------------- The xml-dev list is sponsored by XML.org <http://www.xml.org>, an initiative of OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> The list archives are at http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/ To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list use the subscription manager: <http://lists.xml.org/ob/adm.pl>
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