[Pythonmac-SIG] Re: Pythonmac-SIG digest, Vol 1 #739 - 7 msgs

[Daniel Lord]

> Hello New Kid, Wet Behind The Ears Kid In Class
> 
> Actually, I program for a living, thank you, and am plagued with the
> tendency to call bullshit for what it is. Swallow the XML hype and
> then make a living out of it if you can find someone gullible enough
> to buy in, but I am not aware of anything in XML that isn't a rehash
> of what was being done 10 years ago with most any database and some
> SGML if need be.
> 
> Beyond that, XML will die in due course because a) it requires
> absolute precision in tagging which is not something that html people
> are used to and b) M$ among others has already fragmented it to the
> point that it's meaningless as a standard.
> 
> Given that neither M$ nor Netscape was ever able to actually meet DOM
> 4 standards, just what makes you think that they can meet an XML
> standard or even care? Grow up and quit gulping down whatever the PR
> flacks feed you.

Maybe it doesn't suit your needs, but that doesn't make it useless unless
you and yourself are the world appointed holy arbiter of new standards. Last
time I looked--you are not.

Many organizations are using XML for data representations very effectively:
Just a few examples.

1) Juniper Netwroks uses XML for their CLI for networking much more
effectively than a the old CLI and more easily automated.

2) Mac OSX uses it for property lists

3) KDE uses it for configuration of the desktop

4) When parsing HTML-based data tables, every tiem the HTML changes, my
Python script has to change or it grabs the wrong data, if the data was
given in XML, the web site's format could change all it wanted and never
break my program.

If your way is better--do it and prove it.

Programmers with your "it's all been done by me before and will never be
better" attitude have been writing incompatible, single-purpose, short-life
cycle, and arcane code for years. It called NIH. I don't expect you to
change--and no one is forcing you to. No one is forcing you to adopt XML.
Code away in assembler for all I care. That's your choice and it is a free
country. But have the courtesy to get out of our faces stop insulting  some
of us as adopt what we think are better ways.

Thank you.