ietf-822
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Re: extensions of text/enriched

1993-04-20 09:38:31
    <postscript-font><param>Times-Roman-12pt</param>
    ... some text ...
    </postscript-font>

PostScript-Font???  What about when I'm printing the message on the Imagen
or HP printers here?  Or looking at it on my X11 screen?
If this is intended as a hint,
        <font><param>Times-Roman</>text text...</> would be fine
(I'm assuming the SGML-style </> is OK as a shorthand for </param> etc).
Why not just <font>?

This style is also beginning to stretch the limits of
the richtext syntax, in a way.  Compare
        <text font="Times-Roman" size="32">Here is a Headline</>
and
        <text><param>Times-Roman</><param>32</>Here is a Headline</>
and
        <text>Here is a headline<param>Times-Roman</><param>32</></>

The `must be immediately followed by' relation is a weak one if the
constructs involved can also be used in other ways.  Yes, you could say
that it's intended to be generated automatically, but if you say that,
you might as well make it fully SGML-conforming and increase interoperability
with `modern' desktop and database tools.

Which is not to say that RichText should in any way be replaced by SGML --
we've been through that -- but that where SGML constructions exist for
solving something, that those constructs be considered, so that the (worthy)
stated goal of making RichText a subset of SGML be mantained.
In this case, the SGML attribute construct might be a more appropriate way
of specifying parameters.

Lee

-- 
lee(_at_)sq(_dot_)com (Liam Quin) the barefoot programmer; SoftQuad Inc +1 416 
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