[jdom-interest] Internal DTD subset verification

[Elliotte Rusty Harold]

At 11:04 AM -0400 5/7/02, Alex Rosen wrote:

>The line with most APIs is, protect users from
>themselves when it's cheap but not when it's expensive, because otherwise
>they'll use a different API. That's the line I would draw.

We are not merely protecting the developers from themselves. We are 
protecting  all of the developers' clients and customers and users 
from that developer by not allowing that developer to make certain 
mistakes. We are helping to keep the XML environment pure by 
enforcing the deliberately and rightfully draconian rules of XML.

It's sort of like car companies using gas tanks that leaded nozzles 
won't fit into, catalytic converters, and other emission control 
systems. These do raise the price of cars and perhaps reduce 
performance, but car companies include them because it keeps the air 
cleaner and because the government requires them to.

Our environment is XML and our government is the W3C. We are 
obligated to provide the pollution control systems the XML spec 
mandates. Doing this results in a cleaner environment for everyone. 
Will some users find ways around our controls? Yes, just as some car 
buyers remove their catalytic converters. But most won't, and thus 
there'll be fewer malformed XML documents floating around in the 
world, and that's a good thing for everyone.
-- 

+-----------------------+------------------------+-------------------+
| Elliotte Rusty Harold | elharo at metalab.unc.edu | Writer/Programmer |
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|          The XML Bible, 2nd Edition (Hungry Minds, 2001)           |
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|   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0764547607/cafeaulaitA/   |
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