Vinay Chandran wrote:
Folks,
How about getting <attribute/> tag from representing only key value pairs to something
more expessive(similar to a configuration).
'key' should be a mandatory attribute for <attribute/>
but one could have 'value' as an optional attribute.
<attribute/> tag can thus along with key+value have potential data embedded within.
Syntax(s):-
<!-- A rich attribute --> <attribute key="policy" value="can be dummy description"> <policy><file>/usr/policy/</file><type>PKCS#7</type></policy> </attribute>
<!-- indicates presence of an attribute --> <attribute key="isTransactional"/>
<!-- present scenario--> <attribute key="size" value="small"/>
So o.a.a.meta.info.Descriptor can provide a means to get the raw data out from a contained attribute with in the descriptor it represents. (maybe return a configuration object)
Thoughts?
The current named value approach is simple while not excluding evolution along the lines your suggesting. However, in the short term I see a couple of downsides - (a) it would lead to a non-validatable schema (at least non-validatable via a DTD), and (b) it would delay finalizing the model. Personally I would defer something like this until the notions of configuration validation are in place and working, and also capture some broader real usage requirements. My own usage of attributes has been almost always as a way of sneaking in something as part of more adventurous development. When the notion matures it will stand a good chance of either escalating up to a formal element in the model (e.g. lifestyle attributes is an example of something that started of as a attribute and escalated to a formal element) or becoming a recognized attribute (e.g. something life local or remote service is an example of a candidate for a standard attribute - but after some general experience with distributed service management).
Conclusion - put the idea into the wiki and lets revisit it after we gain more experience.
Steve.
Regards, Vinay
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