[XML-SIG] The Zen of DOM

[Uche Ogbuji]

> Completely off topic, why is the term 'event' used to denote
> 'recognition' in this XML parser world? It doesn't seem to ring the
> right bells to my jaded ear. I guess what I used to call 'semantic
> actions' are now known as 'event handlers'.

It depends on your point of view.  The reason "events" are used in the context 
of SAX semantics is because SAX uses asynchronous events (in the classical 
sense) to signal semantic units.  To SAX's view, the parser is 
highly-decoupled from the handler, and so it looks as if it is just firing an 
event and going on about its business.  Now you as the programmer, the 
omniscient observer, sees that most practical SAX applications do actually 
have a high degree of coupling between the parser and event-handler, and so to 
you it's nothing more than a simple procedure call.  But remember that SAX is 
modeled such that this needn't be the case.


-- 
Uche Ogbuji
uche.ogbuji@fourthought.com               (303)583-9900 x 101
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