On Sat, 3 Feb 2007 08:02:34 -0600, Grant Robertson <bogus@b...>
wrote:

>As I am learning about XML I seen that xmlns is used with a colon after 
>it as if it were a namespace itself. However, I have never seen a URI 
>given for it. Is "xmlns" a sort of predefined word in that all XML 
>software just knows what it means without it needing a URI?
>
>Are there any more of these special words that need no definition within 
>any schema? I know there are other special words like "element" and 
>"targetNamespace" but these seem to be defined within the XML Schema 
>schema definition. It seems that only "xmlns" must be known before 
>anything else can be known.

xmlns is a namespace prefix, not a namespace; namespaces are identified
by a URI. Anyway, the xmlns prefix is associated with the URI
http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/, and the namespace standard forbids any
other prefix from being associated with that URI. You can get all the
details, including a description of other reserved prefixes, from the
standard at http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/REC-xml-names-20060816/.
-- 
Eric Amick
Columbia, MD