RE: [dita] Fwd: DITA grammars

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From: dita@lists.oasis-open.org [mailto:dita@lists.oasis-open.org] On Behalf Of Kristen James Eberlein
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2021 8:36 AM
To: DITA TC <dita@lists.oasis-open.org>
Subject: [dita] Fwd: DITA grammars

Feedback from Rodolfo Raya ...

Best,
Kris

Kristen James Eberlein
Chair, OASIS DITA Technical Committee
OASIS Distinguished Contributor
Principal consultant, Eberlein Consulting LLC
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+1 919 622-1501; kriseberlein (skype)

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	DITA grammars
Date:	Tue, 22 Jun 2021 09:52:13 -0300
From:	Rodolfo Raya <rmraya@maxprograms.com>
To:	Kristen James Eberlein <kris@eberleinconsulting.com>

Hello Kris,

Moving DITA grammars to RelaxNG looks cool and a modern thing to do, but from my perspective as developer this was a bad idea.

When a Java-based parser reads an XML file that declares a DTD or XSD grammar, the parser sets element attributes to their default values when the user doesnât explicitly set in the XML file. If the parser reads a DITA file, it automatically sets the @class attribute from the grammar, even if the author skipped it (most common case). Same with any attribute that has a default in the grammar.

Reading an XML file that declares a RelaxNG grammar using a Java-based parser does not set skipped attributes to their default values. Reading a DITA file with RelaxNG grammar does not let you know the value of the @class attribute in its elements.

My translation tools depend on the @class attribute to process user-defined elements. This is a problem when users try to adopt RelaxNG for their customized grammars. At least my tools canât support them today. Itâs not a new thing, the problem appeared long ago.

So, the move to embrace RelaxNG creates problems for some tool vendors. It requires major changes in XML parsers and catalog managers.

I really donât know if the DITA TC considered the libraries that developers use on different platforms, like .NET on Windows or Java. My impression is that the TC looked at authoring and publishing environments only.

Take this email as a small contribution to the discussion on grammars. Iâm not requesting any change or reconsideration, just providing additional information.

Regards,

Rodolfo

--
Rodolfo M. Raya
https://link.edgepilot.com/s/6effaa80/-bXX3vpiO0CwrWFn4S_DEQ?u=https://www.maxprograms.com/

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