On Sun, 2004-05-30 at 11:02, George Mitchell wrote:
Before we waste any more time on XML, could we take a quick poll on
whether we want to use it at all?
I am opposed to the use of XML in conjunction with SPF.
Not because of any inherent fault of XML, but because it is too general a
solution to a core problem of SPF (compact, clear encoding of the SPF intent
of an organisation), and I believe you should never out-source your essence
(out-source the accidental parts of your solution, but not the essential
problem solution) - the more general aspects will be abused, which will in
turn cause more damage to SPF than the sum-total benefit of using a
generalised, standard and commoditised markup scheme.
If someone smarter than me can point out a robust way to reduce or limit this
more general nature of XML (and, AFAIK, a schema, a DTD or similar cannot
forbid XML comments) then I am more than happy to review this opinion.
Cheers
--
Tim Meadowcroft