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Re: Re: Linking in DocBook V5.0


On Thu, Nov 15, 2001 at 05:50:21AM -0500, Norman Walsh wrote:
> / Yann Dirson <ydirson@fr.alcove.com> was heard to say:
> | On Wed, Nov 14, 2001 at 12:32:19PM -0500, Norman Walsh wrote:
> | > We could do it that way, but I think the implementation burden would
> | > be even higher. Most XML systems don't have support for AF directly, so it
> | > would all have to be constructed with stylesheets or something.
> | 
> | Not knowing much about XSLT yet, I wonder whether an XSLT program
> | could be written to implement AF support, so that all XML systems
> | easily get AF support ?
> 
> It could, I think. But it would make the DocBook tool chain even more
> complex and it's complex enough, I think. Until AF support is widely used
> and understood by the XML community, I'm inclined not to require it.

The problem is that as long as there's no implementation they're not
likely to embrace it.  And this transformation would only be necessary
for those wanting to process xlinks on their own, not in the standard
toolchain.

A possibility would be to define this AF so that we're on a firm
formal ground, and continue using DocBook as it is now.  SGML users
would be able to get the Xlink architectural instance if needed (hm,
does it make sense ?).  Then later the AF support for XML can be
written.

Basically, I see this as adding Xlink semantics in DocBook without the
awkward syntax, so that we can use the expressive power of Xlink, and
so that Xlink syntax can be used by those with a need for it, although
maybe not right now.  That is, something better than we have now, with
provision for the real standard.

Or did you/anyone intend to directly use Xlink-processing tools
directly in the standard toolchain ?

-- 
Yann Dirson <Yann.Dirson@fr.alcove.com>                 http://www.alcove.com/
Free-Software Engineer				      Ingénieur Logiciel-Libre
Free-Software time manager    	       Responsable du temps Informatique-Libre
Debian GNU/Linux developper <dirson@debian.org>

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