What XML lib to use?

[Paul Boddie]

Fredrik Lundh wrote:
> Robert Kern wrote:
> > His interpretation of your words is a perfectly valid one even in the
> > context of this thread. "in Python" explicitly provides a context for
> > the rest of the sentence.
>
> Exactly.  "in Python", not "in an application with an existing API".

Well, if you're still not convinced that DOMs exist outside monolithic
applications... ;-)

> > In English, at least, it is perfectly reasonable to presume that explicit
> > contexts override implicit ones.
>
> Letting a part of a sentence override the context of the discussion is
> perhaps popular in certain tabloid journalist circles, and among slash-
> dot editors and US political bloggers, but most people do in fact have
> a context buffer memory that can hold more than a few words.

I don't really see how an absolutely-qualified complete sentence...

Q> since there are no *sane* reasons to use SAX or DOM in Python,
Q> that's mainly a job security issue...

...can somehow be qualified by the preceding discussion, when the only
ambiguous context is "that" == "good for learning things". It's an
absolute statement of opinion! (And yes, I think we all agree on what
"Python" is.)

> I know what I meant.  You know what I meant.  Paul knows what I
> meant.

I actually do know what you mean, but that doesn't mean that the
statement in question wasn't misleading, especially to people who
aren't familiar with or accustomed to discovering this missing context.
It's like saying "there are no *sane* reasons to drive a Volvo",
possibly in a follow-up to a discussion about how bad Volvos are
compared to Saabs. There may well be a sane reason to drive a Volvo,
but the statement doesn't allow for the possibility, unless in the hunt
for the missing context you're willing to take the term "significant
whitespace" to a whole new level.

Paul