• To: <xml-dev@l...>
• Subject: Re: Character Entities: An XML Core WG View
• From: "Rick Jelliffe" <ricko@a...>
• Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002 19:10:13 +1100
• References: <BD2DBD26EE0BAA48B1A425C7BE7923002CFF76@c...>

From: "Micah Dubinko" <MDubinko@c...>
 
> Question: why is this currently a WF error, as opposed to a validity error?
> 
> Are there any known cases of processing that *depends* on this being
> a WF error (and would thus be surprised if it someday became allowed)?

An unresolved entity reference says the physical structure of the document is 
incomplete, just as much as if a start-tag were missing.  There is certainly a level 
below WF that is useful, for manipulating text+markup rather than infosets,
however.

That is the difference between an entity referenced for inclusion (i.e. using
&xxx;) and an entity referenced just as a link (i.e. using ENTITY attributes,
xlink:href, etc).   An entity reference for inclusion is a non-optional part of
a document: it is a basic integrity mechanism.   

Cheers
Rick Jelliffe

• References:
  • RE: Character Entities: An XML Core WG View
    • From: Micah Dubinko <MDubinko@c...>

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