XML quote Re: Meeting Notes: SLUG Mon 14 Nov - Google Earth and everything else

[Ben Scott]

On 11/15/06, Thomas Charron <twaffle at gmail.com> wrote:
> Then you did it wrong in the first place.  Now, the benny of XML is you
> would utilize namespaces to provide versioning ...

  Indeed.  Or even without that:

<foo>
<color>blue</color>
<height>1.3m</height>
<weight>22kg</weight>
<fav-dessert>pie</fav-dessert>
<fav-movie>Brazil</fav-movie>
<favorites>
<dessert>pie</dessert>
<movie>Brazil</movie>
</favorites>
</foo>

  Duplication of data, yes, but presumably the v3 implementation knows
to ignore the legacy <fav-*> stuff when <favorites> is present, and
earlier implementations are already ignoring the unknown <favorites>
section.

  It's a common observation that while data structures tend to be a
lot harder to change than code, many people start working on code and
come up with data structures as they go along.  Typical human
short-sightedness.

  "Data dominates. If you've chosen the right data structures and
organized things well, the algorithms will almost always be
self-evident.  Data structures, not algorithms, are central to
programming"
       -- Rob Pike

  "The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit."
       -- W. Somerset Maugham

-- Ben