Simple approaches to XML implementation

[Peter S. Housel]

Here's what I'm looking for in an XML/SGML API.

First I want an entry point that allows the application to query
the parser implementation what property set modules it supports
(i.e., what's the richest grove plan available to users), and whether
or not validation is available.

Next, there should be an XMLEventStream object.  To create an
XMLEventStream, you specify:

1. The URL of the document to open.
2. The grove plan you want, in the form of a list of property set modules.
3. Whether or not you want validation done.

This gives a stream-based interface to the XML document.  By default, the
grove plan would be {baseabs, prlgabs0, instabs}, which gives you a stream
of XMLEvent objecs that corresponds almost exactly to ESIS.

If you ask for more modules than that, XMLEventStream will give you a
richer
set of objects, a stream including such things as the contents of the DTD,
comments,
or whatever you like.

As a layer above that, there should be a grove-based interface that takes
the
stream and turns it into a grove.  Once built, the grove can be examined
using
an interface similar to SDQL.  As someone has already noted, there should
be concrete subclasses of the Node class, but the property-getting
interface should
work whether the property is stored in a list of properties or in a special
instance
slot.

I'm very fond of the idea of mapping documents of various MIME types onto
XML documents.
The translator could work as an XMLEventStream, making the grove-building
machinery
common to all document types.

Still higher application-specific layers could be built easily.

Am I way off base here?  I know this is the kind of interface that would
make
me happy...

-Peter S. Housel- housel at ms7.hinet.net


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