Re: [ubl-dev] A 'Lite' Profile for UBL

[jon.bosak@sun.com]

[stephen_green@seventhproject.co.uk:]

| This could be achieved by adding to the spreadsheets of UBL = (Ken
| and I choose to start with the cut-down versions used by the
| Localization Sub = Committees for translation work) an extra
| column which adds to each and every BIE (row) one of two =
| designations 'Deprecated' and 'Recommended'. There are then two
| rules to say
| 
|      1.  A 'Deprecated' BIE MAY be ignored
|      2.  A 'Recommended' BIE MUST NOT be ignored

That's not what "deprecated" means.  "Deprecated" in standards
work means "we used to think this was a good idea, but now we
don't any more and would prefer that you did it this other way
instead."  Or as one online dictionary puts it:

   deprecated - Said of a program or feature that is considered
   obsolescent and in the process of being phased out, usually in
   favour of a specified replacement. Deprecated features can,
   unfortunately, linger on for many years. This term appears with
   distressing frequency in standards documents when the
   committees writing the documents realise that large amounts of
   extant (and presumably happily working) code depend on the
   feature(s) that have passed out of favour.

The term is used correctly in the HTML 4.0 specification, for example:

   A deprecated element or attribute is one that has been outdated
   by newer constructs. Deprecated elements are defined in the
   reference manual in appropriate locations, but are clearly
   marked as deprecated. Deprecated elements may become obsolete
   in future versions of HTML.

I'm sure that UBL (like most standards efforts) will end up
deprecating some of its initial features in favor of replacements
to be defined in the future, but this is not the distinction you
are looking for.

Jon