documenting schemas/DTDs

[edwsm at us.ibm.com]

There's another school which holds that "syntax IS semantics".

A DTD for X.509 certificates allows me to express what parts of the
certificate I consider required, what parts of the certificate I consider
optional, as well as the legal forms of the parts themselves.

I can tell whether or not a certificate is valid, and also *why* (e.g. no
signature algorithm name was provided, the "not after" date was malformed).
I think that if I can answer "why" questions, I'm operating in the semantic
realm.

Meaning may only be conveyed (manifested?) in "running code or
human-readable prose", but the meaning is latent in the syntax, and
couldn't be conveyed if it wasn't already there.

Ed Smierciak



"Steven R. Newcomb" <srn at techno.com>@ic.ac.uk on 11/18/99 10:19:34 PM

Please respond to "Steven R. Newcomb" <srn at techno.com>

Sent by:  owner-xml-dev at ic.ac.uk


To:   tbray at textuality.com
cc:   xml-dev at ic.ac.uk
Subject:  Re: documenting schemas/DTDs



[Tim Bray:]

> DTD's and XML Schemas both are *just syntax*
> dammit, and syntax is not interesting.  XML, at the end of the day, is
not
> interesting.  Messages that convey meaning are interesting.  Meaning is
> only conveyed by
>
>  (a) running code, or
>  (b) human-readable prose.
>
> To generate (a), you have to have (b) first.
>
> End of the story. -Tim

I too am moved to underline this sentiment.   Hear!   Hear!   Hear!

-Steve

--
Steven R. Newcomb, President, TechnoTeacher, Inc.
srn at techno.com  http://www.techno.com  ftp.techno.com

voice: +1 972 517 7954  <<-- new phone number
fax    +1 972 517 4571  <<-- new fax number
pager (150 characters max): srn-page at techno.com

Suite 211               <<-- new address
7101 Chase Oaks Boulevard
Plano, Texas 75025 USA

xml-dev: A list for W3C XML Developers. To post, mailto:xml-dev at ic.ac.uk
Archived as: http://www.lists.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/xml-dev/ and on
CD-ROM/ISBN 981-02-3594-1
To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo at ic.ac.uk the following message;
unsubscribe xml-dev
To subscribe to the digests, mailto:majordomo at ic.ac.uk the following
message;
subscribe xml-dev-digest
List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (mailto:rzepa at ic.ac.uk)





xml-dev: A list for W3C XML Developers. To post, mailto:xml-dev at ic.ac.uk
Archived as: http://www.lists.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/xml-dev/ and on CD-ROM/ISBN 981-02-3594-1
To unsubscribe, mailto:majordomo at ic.ac.uk the following message;
unsubscribe xml-dev
To subscribe to the digests, mailto:majordomo at ic.ac.uk the following message;
subscribe xml-dev-digest
List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (mailto:rzepa at ic.ac.uk)