[XML-SIG] XBEL / Call for extension

[Uche Ogbuji]

On Fri, 2005-01-28 at 16:50 +0000, Frans Englich wrote:
> This is my opinion.
> 
> If I were to design XBEL from the ground up I would have put it in a 
> namespace. Doing it at this point would be done in the name of somekind of 
> "XML-correctness". While it itches to suggest it, I don't think it justifies 
> all the compatibility havoc it creates.

Namespaces don't really have anything to do with XML correctness.  I
think this is a popular misconception.  Namespaces are meant to solve a
particular problem in XML.  Many argue it makes a hash of the solution
(I'm somewhat in the middle), but I think everyone would agree that if
you don't have the problem, there is no need to complicate things by
using namespaces.  Knee-jerk use of namespaces is as bad as knee-jerk
use of rat traps.  If you don't have a rodent infestation, there is no
point putting rat traps around the house and thus risking a swollen
toe :-)

I believe that if we were creating XBEL the very first time now, I would
still argue against a namespace.


-- 
Uche Ogbuji                                    Fourthought, Inc.
http://uche.ogbuji.net    http://4Suite.org    http://fourthought.com
Use CSS to display XML - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/x-dw-x-xmlcss-i.html
Introducing the Amara XML Toolkit - http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2005/01/19/amara.html
Be humble, not imperial (in design) - http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=10286
Querying WordNet as XML - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-think29.html
Manage XML collections with XAPI - http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-xapi.html
Default and error handling in XSLT lookup tables - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-tiplook.html
Packaging XSLT lookup tables as EXSLT functions - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-tiplook2.html