Subject: Re: Lisp XML parser ?
From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.no>
Date: 2000/06/25
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Message-ID: <3170921063858188@naggum.no>

* Fabrice Popineau <Fabrice.Popineau@supelec.fr>
| This is not the problem. You stated that 'there is no consensus on
| what an XML document means'. 

  I'm sorry, but could you please pay attention to what I'm saying so
  I don't have to reestablish the entire context _every_ time I say
  something you apparently are not going to accept and keep bickering
  about?

  To be blunt: *ML documents derive meaning from sources external to
  the documents.  Even if you use XSL to obtain meaning as far as
  _presentation_ is concerned, you still don't have a clue what you're
  dealing with unless you're actually the _same_ application as the
  writer of the XML document.  *ML is no better than random chunks of
  binary data, but it also is no worse -- it could easily have been.

| The DOM is a recommendation of the W3C, so it is a consensus, even if
| you do not like it.

  That's the worst non sequitur this newsgroup has suffered in a while.
  If you can't argue better than this, go back to school and shut up.

| From the 'parser problem' point of view, it is the recommended way
| to access the document and any parser should ideally follow it.

  I'm glad you're providing evidence of your understanding that DOM is
  essentially no more than an access mechanism, which I called merely
  an alternate representation, not actually representing a _meaning_.
  Can you please make the effort to grasp the difference?

| From a practical point of view, I have found several DOM modules for
| Perl, C/C++ that quickly allowed me to hack XML documents but I have
| not been able to find the same thing for Lisp (any hint there ?).
| And even if DOM does not follow an ideally good design, it is
| already useful.

  I was not talking about your ability to find useful tools to access
  *ML documents via DOM "API"'s, OK?  Now, _get_ the idea, damnit!

| If you have better proposals, just submit them to the W3C.

  Oh, Christ, another one of those.  Just go away.  If you don't like
  that response, please submit your suggestions for improvements to
  the Norwegian government, or better yet: NATO.  Wait, try EU!  No,
  make that the United Nations.

#:Erik
-- 
  If this is not what you expected, please alter your expectations.