Extra Complexity?

[Frank Boumphrey]

>Many applications I've seen, and a few that I have created, don't validate
>the XML against a DTD.
>
>Is the DTD an extra step, inherited from SGML, that doesn't really fit XML?
>

The real value of a DTD is as a check on the author, to make sure that the
document has a consistent structure. If I am searching through a document
using the DOM it is always nice to know that

myDoc.firstChild.lastChild.firstChild.nodeValue

will access the content of the same kind of element.

If I am building a document by machine I will not always use a DTD, but if a
fallible human has access to the document it should always be validated
after any 'hand-rolled' change is made.

That way I know that my document has a consistent structure.

In summary when I am authoring a document I will always check its validity,
but when displaying a document I will not check it for validity, only for
well formedness.

Frank

Frank Boumphrey

XML and style sheet info at Http://www.hypermedic.com/style/index.htm
Author: - Professional Style Sheets for HTML and XML http://www.wrox.com
CoAuthor:  XML applications from Wrox Press, www.wrox.com
Author: Using XML on the Web (March)

----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Holle <dan at holle.demon.co.uk>
To: <xml-dev at ic.ac.uk>
Sent: Saturday, February 06, 1999 4:56 PM
Subject: DTD: Extra Complexity?




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