RE: infoset

[David RR Webber <Gnosis_@compuserve.com>]

Mike,

Thanks! This is a big help.

This mechanism cuts right across the bows of the ebXML Registry work
on interoperability, and the use of UID's and Core Components.

Naturally I prefer the ebXML approach, especially as UID supports
versioning, and extended content semantics, and works with plain
vanilla XML V1.0.  

We rejected associations based on name as clearly this is fraught
with possible errors, and broken links if a version changes a 
physical name (same problem as architectural forms).

Ho hum.

In any case - I can easily generate infoset into a schema from an
ebXML registry set of definitions - for those that must have it!

James' assertion, "noted, now drive one", is definately the right call
here.

Thanks, DW. 
=======================================================
Message text written by Michael Fitzgerald
> 
David,

I believe infoset just gives things unified labels, so that a variety of
specs can point to something and all of them call it by the same name.
E.g.,
XSLT uses 'current node' and XPath 'context node'. This is confusing to
most
of us. With infoset, a tree is an information set and an element node is an
element information item with properties such as a local name, attributes,
children, and parents. So you *could* describe a XML document like this:

<order:Order xmlns:order="http://www.testb2b.org/order" date="2001-05-31"
partner="06-853-2535">
 <order:Quantity>40</order:Quantity>
 <order:Item partno="7-8492-101">Wonder Widget</order:Item>
</order:Order>

Order element information item (see section 2.2 of
http://www.w3.org/tr/xml-infoset/):
properties:
 local name: Order
 prefix: order
 attributes: date, partner
 namespace name: http://www.testb2b.org/order
 parent: root (document information item)
 children: Quantity, Item

Infoset will help folks who have to write processors for XML and have to
make choices about what to call things in method calls, classes, etc. It
will be easier for software and humans to figure out what is going on and
then interoperate.

I hope this helps,

Mike<