XSchema Spec, Section 3, Draft 1 (Namespaces)

[Simon St.Laurent]

>i thought that's what the namespace pi was for.

Then you've missed my point.

The namespace PI applies namespaces to documents - namespace-aware 
applications should expand the prefix to the full name provided in the ns 
production.  XSchemas need one of these for the XSC: stuff, and extensions 
(the XSC:More area) will require additional declarations for their extension 
namespaces.

For instance, an XSchema in the current version will begin:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml:namespace ns="http://www.purl.org/NET/XSchema/v1" prefix="XSC"?>
<XSC:XSchema>
  <XSC:Namespace ns="http://simonstl.com/" prefix="NewSpace">
    <XSC:Doc>The namespace above is a total waste of time</XSC:Doc>
  </XSC:Namespace>
  <XSC:ElementDecl name="NewSpace:WasteOSpace">
    <XSC:Empty/>
  </XSC:ElementDecl>
</XSC:XSchema>

The exciting document might look like:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?PI to be determined linking in XSchema?>
<?xml:namespace ns="http://simonstl.com" prefix="SillySpace"?>
<SillySpace:WasteOSpace/>

The XSchema could instead have been written:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml:namespace ns="http://www.purl.org/NET/XSchema/v1" prefix="XSC"?>
<?xml:namespace ns="http://simonstl.com/" prefix="NewSpace"?>
<!--The namespace above is a total waste of time -->
<XSC:XSchema>
    <XSC:ElementDecl name="NewSpace:WasteOSpace">
    <XSC:Empty/>
  </XSC:ElementDecl>
</XSC:XSchema>

But as you can see, the namespace declaration has to appear both places in one 
form or another for the src information to line up if the prefix changes, as 
is likely.  Since we're making the rest of the declarations more documentable, 
why not namespaces?  It gets them out of the way and gives them a good home 
within the XSchema, where they can be documented, manipulated, and edited with 
relative ease.

Actually, I'm beginning to consider namespaces a plot to keep authors from 
meeting their deadlines rather than a great help to society.  I've got to turn 
in chapters tomorrow, so I'll be off the air for the rest of today.

Simon St.Laurent
Dynamic HTML: A Primer / XML: A Primer / Cookies


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