ietf-822
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Re: Finishing the XML-tagging discussion

2000-03-18 08:56:13
Just catching myself on an overstatement.

At 10:32 AM 3/18/00 -0500, I wrote:
I don't think text/xml and application/xml are going to have much of a life
except as a holding tank for XML formats that are either in development,
and thus not ready for a MIME content identifier, or which aren't meant for
any kind of large scale interchange.

I meant this within a framework of XML processing that goes beyond generic
document+style sheet->presentation.  There are many document-oriented
applications out there where application/xml or text/xml is perfectly
appropriate and does what their users need them to do.

Some of these may eventually develop the need for more specific MIME types,
of course, but lots of them will likely stay in application/xml or
text/xml.  Having the -xml suffix would also ease the integration of these
new MIME types with other XML documents.

The main argument continues to hold for XML formats that receive more
specific automated processing.

Simon St.Laurent
XML Elements of Style / XML: A Primer, 2nd Ed.
Building XML Applications
Inside XML DTDs: Scientific and Technical
Cookies / Sharing Bandwidth
http://www.simonstl.com