[XML-SIG] Value of namespaces (was RE: [XML-SIG] IPC7 results)
Markus Fleck
fleck@informatik.uni-bonn.de
Mon, 16 Nov 1998 19:26:17 +0100
James Tauber wrote:
> <!ELEMENT patient-person-data (name,religion...)>
> <!ELEMENT physician-person-data (name, idnum, pager...)>
>
> What do namespaces give you that this doesn't?
Let me quote Tim Berners-Lee again (from the WWW7 Conference):
"You need to build a system that is futureproof;
it's no good just making a modular system," he said.
"You need to realize that your system is just going
to be a module in some bigger system to come, and so
you have to be part of something else, and it's a
bit of a way of life."
In other words, namespaces allow you to use globally
unique identifiers without needing to revert to
non-descriptive and ugly numerical UUIDs.
So with namespaces, it would be possible to exchange
or convert data from other hospitals that use
differently defined "*-person-data" structures.
Yours,
Markus.
--
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Markus B Fleck - University of Bonn - CS Department IV - WHOIS MF5079
UNIX Administrator - comp.lang.python.announce Moderator
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