[Fred Drake over on xml-sig]

I think the only thing I'd really like to be able to use from SGML that XML doesn't offer is the empty end tag. When marking one or two words, XML is incredibly verbose. If I have:

In the module foo, the function bar() provides...

The XML might be:

In the module <module>foo</module>, the function <function>bar</function> provides...

The corresponding SGML (with the right declaration) might be:

In the module <module>foo</>, the function <function>bar</> provides...

An alternative is to use an application specific rule rather than rely on the markup language. Here is what I mean: In the module <module/>foo, the function <function/>bar provides... Here module and function are point elements identifying the point at which module/function names begin. Application logic then terminates the module/function name using appropriate lexical rules i.e. next piece of whitespace or whatever. I would be the first to admit that some people find this approach revolting but it works and it is valid XML:-) <Sean uri="http://www.digitome.com/sean.html"> Developers Day co-Chair WWW9, April 2000, Amsterdam <uri>http://www.www9.org</uri> </Sean>