[XML-SIG] XBEL DTD as a meta-dtd

[Andrew M. Kuchling]

Fred L. Drake writes:
>  I don't think the proposed DTD is too complicated, but it probably
>shouldn't get much more complicated.  Jack's "pass" element makes
>sense and should be added since it directly related to bookmark
>management within applications like Grail.

	I was agreeing more with Greg's reaction to turning it into a
meta-DTD.  The basic problem of expressing a bookmark file is fairly
simple, and the DTD should also be fairly simple.  It's nice to keep
it at the level of complexity where people (such as me) say "Oh, that
looks neat; I'll take an hour and implement it" instead "Gosh, that
looks awfully complicated; I'll pull the covers over my head and hope
it goes away."  In addition, the XBEL code as-is makes an excellent
set of sample programs for the Python/XML package.

> I wrote:
> > so eventually.  That leaves somewhere in /topics/xml/; perhaps
> > /topics/xml/DTD/ can be used for such DTDs.
>
>  This last variant is almost exactly what I'm spitting out from
>Grail; the only difference is that I spelled "DTD" as "dtds" (take
>your pick for capitalization, but I think the plural makes sense).

	Good suggestion, though I tend to read the URL components as
qualifiers, not categories, and hence usually go for the singular:
"dtd" instead of "dtds". Anyway, there's now a page for them at:
http://www.python.org/topics/xml/dtds/

	Add xbel.dtd to the end of that URL to download the DTD; you
can use this in namespace declarations.  When I get time, I'll
probably add the DTD used by the xml.marshal function to that page as
well (unless xml.marshal is obsoleted by Lotos or some other DTD).
This isn't going to be a massive collection of DTDs, just a stable
home for any DTDs that originate within the Python community.

	(The XBEL DTD used is the original one.  When we can settle on
a final version of the DTD, I'll update it.)

-- 
A.M. Kuchling			http://starship.skyport.net/crew/amk/
What can I wish to the youth of my country who devote themselves to
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life. If you had two lives that would not be enough for you. Be passionate in
your work and in your searching.
    -- Ivan Pavlov