OASIS XML Localisation Interchange File Format (XLIFF) TC

  • 1.  Re: [xliff]

    Posted 01-28-2002 17:16
    Hi Eric; On 25 January 2002, you were heard to say: >On a technical note, apps that want to do this out-of-band work in-line can do so much more effectively with namespaces + schemas (though not DTDs). I sense another reason to progress the work on schema, additional to and predating the issues raised by myself. Regards, David L ************************************************************ eric@etranslate.com wrote on 1/25/02 6:06:22 PM ************************************************************ The current rev of the specification includes a <prop> element which, like the element of the same name in TMX, is intended to carry unstructured, proprietary data along with the pure XLIFF data. I see <prop> as a potentially serious threat to interoperability. Catch-all hooks like this invite vendors to embrace and extend standards rather than conform to them or work to collaboratively enrich them. By way of comparision, I'd like to point out that the TMX implementation notes advise that it's the responsibility of each tool provider to provide the types and values of the properties it uses. To my knowledge, no tool provider has actually followed this advice. Hence, people who want to implement fully interoperable readers are at the mercy of vendors who want to keep switching costs high. I propose that we drop <prop> from the XLIFF specification. If an application needs to communicate data that isn't satsified by XLIFF, then it can either do it outside of the XLIFF band or we can agree to enhance XLIFF to everone's benefit. On a technical note, apps that want to do this out-of-band work in-line can do so much more effectively with namespaces + schemas (though not DTDs). With namespaces the out-of-band message can be structured and validated (through XML schemas) as such; conversely, <prop> cannot contain XML markup without first escaping it. Eric ---------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe or unsubscribe from this elist use the subscription manager: < http://lists.oasis-open.org/ob/adm.pl > ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Get your free e-mail account at http://www.ftnetwork.com Visit the web site of the Financial Times at http://www.ft.com