XML and embedded compound data types (was "Why XML data typin is hard")

[Ketil Z Malde]

John Cowan <cowan at locke.ccil.org> writes:

> 	<?map map1 ":" colon?>
> 	<?map map1 "T" time?>
> 	<?map map1 "-" dash?>
> 	<?map map1 "." dot?>
> 	<?apply-map map1 date?>
> 	...
> 	<date>1998-04-05T15:22:23.24</date>

> the application would receive the SAX or DOM equivalent of:

> 	<date>1998<dash/>04<dash/>05<time/>
> 		15<colon/>22<colon/>23<dot/>24</date>

I like this, and I guess it's revealing that I didn't know you could
do things like that.  But who would I be to let lack of experience and 
knowledge be inhibiting factors? :-)

However, this doesn't begin to touch all the issues adressed
previously in the discussion, in particular it does not let the parser
catch illegal content in <date>s (like e.g. regexp constraints could),
nor does it solve locale problems (which I get the impression the data 
type advocates want to)

It's still a neat trick, though.

~kzm
-- 
If I haven't seen further, it is by standing in the footprints of giants

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