XML IDL and XML RPC

[Ron Bourret]

Rex Brooks wrote:

> I only recently subscribed to this mailing list in order to better
> understand xml and how it was developing in relation to IDL and distributed
> computing in general. I am beginning to be gravely disappointed at the
> extent to which this is a list mainly populated by self-serving vendors and
> authors. Is this really true, or am I just stepping in during a
> particularly ugly patch of competing offers?
> 
> Soon to unsubscribe:
> Rex Brooks

I only briefly followed the IDL/RPC discussion, but the original question was 
whether a Corba operation could be expressed in XML.  What followed were 
references to or descriptions of a number products that already do this, 
including Joe Lapp's excellent description of his product's strategy.  All of it 
struck me as a pretty good way for somebody to learn about how to do IDL/RPC in 
XML, whether they wanted to use an existing solution or roll their own.

I don't understand what is self-serving about this.  People are simply talking 
about what they work on, which is what they know best.  The discussions were 
factual, which is within the stated bounds of this list (marketing hype draws 
you a stern slap from the list monitors).  And how were the book plugs different 
from Web-site references except that the resource isn't online?  They happened 
to come from the authors in this case, but they frequently come from readers and 
authors frequently mention competing books, which is hardly self-serving.

As to the general population of the list, it seems that most of the people who 
post contribute their opinions on a variety of questions as well as providing 
information about the specific projects/software they are working on.  In 
addition, the members of this list have developed/are developing at least three 
specifications (SAX, XSchema, and XML Logging) and provide regular input on 
many, many others.  I can't speak for others, but I know I do a lot of this on 
my own time.  I also suspect that for most of us, being able to occasionally 
puff up our chest and point to something we did is about as self-serving as it 
gets.

-- Ron Bourret

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