XSL and the semantic web

[John Cowan]

David Brownell wrote:

> Hmm ... do you see them as issues in other contexts?  Information
> is transformed routinely, every day.  Frankly, I don't want to to be
> getting a complete history of everyone's life every time I deal with
> them; I'm happier to work with the current context (far smaller!).
> That sort of time/history based "semantic firewall" is very useful,
> for all that it's subject to abuse by all parties.

[other examples snipped]
 
> If the semantic content is a "web" then anything short of looking at
> the whole web at once (yeah, right!) is looking through a "firewall".

There is a fundamental difference between providing a multiplicity
of views and creating a semantic firewall.

Providing source and binary is a multiplicity of views.  Providing
binary only is a firewall.  Providing source only is not a firewall,
because compilers are freely available (free speech, not free beer).

Providing hard copy and soft copy is a multiplicity.  Providing
hard copy only is a firewall.

Providing HTML rather than XML, or PDF rather than HTML, are
firewalls.

-- 
John Cowan	http://www.ccil.org/~cowan		cowan at ccil.org
	You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
	You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
		Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)

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