What Clean Specs Achieve

[uche.ogbuji at fourthought.com]

> >But is anyone here trying to _implement_ Java?  Lots of folks here are
> >indeed trying to _implement_ XML 1.0 (parsers and SAX), XLink and XPointer,
> >Namespaces, XSL, etc.  It's not like we're only trying to _use_ them, as is
> >the case with Java (or SQL, another example that's been bounced around.)  
> 
> Most of them seem to be succeeding.  What should we conclude? -Tim

I have worked on teams implementing DOM, XSL and parts of XLL.  Some users 
might grant that we have been "succeeding", but let me assure you that if so, 
it is despite the W3C specs, not because of them.  DOM, especially is 
unforgivably inconsistent, incomplete, and unclear for a production-ready 
(1.0) specification.  Then there is the matter that it blithely violates other 
specs, such as CORBA's IDL, making weak excuses all the while ("but we had to 
support ECMAScript, don't you know?")

Others here have spoken for me as to the confusing nature of the Namespaces 
spec, and what I find interesting is that you claim you were trying to make 
that spec simple.  As another has said, clearly if such intelligent people are 
so baffled by a document whose scope and effect is meant to be simple, there 
are likely problems with the document.

-- 
Uche Ogbuji
FourThought LLC, IT Consultants
uche.ogbuji at fourthought.com	(970)481-0805
Software engineering, project management, Intranets and Extranets
http://FourThought.com		http://OpenTechnology.org




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