[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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