<snip>
And the best extension mechanism is RDF.
Without commenting on the merits of RDF, I think that RSS 2.0 demonstrates the real-world fact that using namespaced modules works.
There are many on this list that don't believe this. I think a very large part of the W3C does not believe this, and the guy who invented the Web, Tim Berner's Lee, who thought about it in the early 80ies, when most people had trouble understanding what computers were, let alone the net, does not believe this.
They can disbelieve it all they want. The fact is, there are a large number of namespaced modules for RSS 2.0, and most aggregators support an awful lot of them. In BottomFeeder, it takes me a few minutes to support any new module that seems to be of interest.
So what people 'believe' is irrelevant. Facts are stubborn things.
Now, whether that's the best mechanism for extensibility? That's a good question. I'd have to say that the simple "It's worked so far" argument carries a lot of weight.
So please people don't respond to this.
too late :)
I want to know who thinks this is a good idea first.
Thanks,
Henry Story http://bblfish.net/blog/
<Talk Small and Carry a Big Class Library>
James Robertson, Product Manager, Cincom Smalltalk
http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/blog/blogView
Cincom Smalltalk User Conference!
http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/blog/blogView?entry=3275631428
