Title: Re: [xml-dev] Better design: "flatter is better" or "nesting is better" ?



Yes - like a VoiceXML document, for example.
 
Joe
 
Joseph Chiusano
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  From: Bullard, Claude L (Len) 
  [mailto:len.bullard@i...] 
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 
  5:28 PM
To: 'Costello, Roger L.'; 
  xml-dev@l...
Subject: RE: [xml-dev] Better design: "flatter 
  is better" or "nesting is better" ?


  
  Remember that XML Schema is an XML document based on another XML 
  document (the schema for schemas), and sort of rooted in a DTD.  
  Sometimes and 
  XML 
  document is not a storage medium or 'bits on the wire'.  It is an 
  application language.
   
  len
  
    -----Original Message-----
From: Costello, Roger L. 
    [mailto:costello@m...]
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 4:12 
    PM
To: xml-dev@l...
Subject: RE: [xml-dev] 
    Better design: "flatter is better" or "nesting is better" 
    ?


    
    
    Hi Folks,
     
    Excellent discussion!
     
    A lot of important issues have been 
    raised.  I would like to focus on one issue, and then come back to the 
    other issues.
     
    The issue is this: what are the roles of an XML 
    document?
     
    As I have been doing with my previous 
    messages, I will make a hypothesis and then invite your 
    critique.
    Hypothesis: The Role of an XML Document is either as a Storage 
    Medium or as a Transport Format
    An XML document may take one of these 
    roles:
     
    (1) The XML document is a storage 
    medium.  Applications operate directly on the XML 
document.
     
    (2) The XML document is a (transient) transport 
    format.  Upon arrival at its destination the data is moved into a 
    storage medium (such as a relational database).  Applications do not 
    operate on the XML document.  Applications operate on the data in the 
    storage medium.
     
    Questions:
     
    1. I believe that these two roles 
    represent the two ends of the spectrum for all possible uses of XML.  
    (Of course, mixed forms are possible)  Is there another role that is 
    not captured?  (i.e., a third dimension?)
     
    2. Peter: I think that XML documents containing presentation-specific 
    data falls under the first category (XML as a storage medium).  Do you 
    agree?
     
    3. Doug: you make an interesting point about not knowing who will be 
    the consumer of an XML document.  I suppose in those cases the XML 
    designer simply makes a best-guess on the role of the XML document.  
    What do you think?
     
    4. Joe: you make an interesting point about XML documents that are 
    transformed into another XML vocabulary.  Would such documents fall 
    under the second category (XML as a transport format)?
     
    5. Ken: you mentioned the case of XML being stuffed into a relational 
    database as a whole document (i.e., not shredded into tables), and 
    applications operating directly on the XML documents in the database.  
    How does this fit into the above categories, or does it?
     
    Comments?  
/Roger