[XML-SIG] URI schemes (was: SAX 2.0, again)

[Greg Stein]

On Sun, 27 Feb 2000, THOMAS PASSIN wrote:
> <uche.ogbuji@fourthought.com> wrote
> 
> <snip qty="most"/>
> 
> > > BTW, "uri" doesn't actually need to be a uri, any unique string will do.
> >
> > Actually, it does have to be a URI or it is in contradiction of the spec
> > (although they didn't go the natural step to make URI conformance a formal
> > namespace constraint, they do have pretty conclusive wording to that
> effect in
> > section 1).
> >
> Actually I mis-spoke slightly.  I really meant it doesn't have to look like
> a regular ***URL***.  I was thinking that the "scheme" of a URI could be
> blank, but checking the RFC I see it has to have at least one letter plus
> the ":".  The rest of it can just be a string (modulo using legal
> characters. etc).  The namespace spec specifically says
> "It is not a goal that it be directly usable for retrieval of a schema (if
> any exists). "  So it doesn't have to be any existing URL or even an
> existing scheme, as long as it is unique.

Minor nit:
   For it to be called a URI, the scheme must be registered with the IANA.

If you just willy-nilly use arbitrary, unregistered schemes, then you *do*
run the chance that it is not unique.

Cheers,
-g

-- 
Greg Stein, http://www.lyra.org/