::scr semantic

Alex Robinson scr@thegestalt.org
Mon, 5 Aug 2002 14:52:15 +0100


>I'd like to know why you think XML is a better representation format for
>these type of relations, rather than, say, S-expressions.

But Jo said nothing of the sort. In fact she said

> rdf != xml


But I'll give you a reason (just for the hell of it). While people are
still generating files by hand, it's a hell of a lot easier for
non-programmers to write

<point>
     A text with a
     <a href="subsection/sec1.html">link</a>
     to a <b>subsection</b>
</point>

than

(point
     "A text with a "
     (a "link" 'href "subsection/sec.html")
     " to a " (b "subsection"))


Parsing speed may well be issue. In which case I suggest sending all data
as (java|emca)script objects in string form that can be evaled into
existence. S-expressions may well be *better*, but I don't know of any
widely distributed desktop app that supports them.

</troll>