> Try reading a page of XML and see what I mean.
It all depends on whether the author of the XML file, or more to the
point, the author of the generator which wrote the file, intended it
to be human readable or totally obfuscated.
For example this is my record in a GRAMPS genealogical database
expressed in XML:-
<person id="I1" handle="_ade6425167357999918" change="1196237841">
<gender>M</gender>
<name type="Birth Name">
<first>Christopher</first>
<last>Sawtell</last>
</name>
<eventref hlink="_ade6426c5ea7bc87637" role="Primary"/>
<eventref hlink="_ade6426d4b25e895e2d" role="Primary"/>
<address>
<datestr val="1943 to 1962"/>
<street>28 Howard Walk, London N2.</street>
</address>
<address>
<datestr val="1962 to 1966"/>
<street>Various in England.</street>
</address>
<childof hlink="_ade64254d715fdfae15"/>
<parentin hlink="_ade64256e727586d29f"/>
<parentin hlink="_ade642516705f1618b0"/>
</person>
And here is the record for my father:-
<person id="I4" handle="_ade64254d9b3ebb728d" change="1196024543">
<gender>M</gender>
<name type="Birth Name">
<first>Herbert Victor</first>
<last>Sawtell</last>
</name>
<eventref hlink="_ade6427693c06d7ec85" role="Primary"/>
<eventref hlink="_ade64278035290de983" role="Primary"/>
<objref hlink="_ade6474aa2142335cb6"/>
<childof hlink="_ade64259a4e59c683f4"/>
<parentin hlink="_ade64254d715fdfae15"/>
</person>
Notice how the <childof hlink="_ade64254d715fdfae15"/> in my record
corresponds to the <parentin hlink="_ade64254d715fdfae15"/> in my
father's record.
OK. This particular file is gzipped first, but after decompressing it,
it's all human readable as ASCII characters - granted only after a
fashon, but readable in any standard ASCII file display program, none
the less. i.e it's not encoded into some secret jumble. Essentially
that's what all the who-ha about OOXML is all about.
On 12/4/07, Nick Rout <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> But imagine converting any large piece of data into XML by writing it.
>
> Writing small config files by hand is fine, but basically you are
> looking at a system where it is designed to be read and written by a
> machine.
>
> Input config data into a gui config tool and it gets saved as XML.
> Receive a web request, look up a database and return the results as XML.
> XML is just a representation of the data. It is not designed to be read
> and written by you. Try reading a page of XML and see what I mean.
>
> Filters are a machine based parsing.
>
> Wesley Parish wrote:
> > Not that I'm aware of. The purpose of xml, as far as I know, is to make
> > formatting a human-editable characteristic of whatever text it is used on.
>
> > Or at least, that's one of its major purposes - another being to simplify
> the
> > development of filters to edit text automatically and as part of a
> workflow.
> >
> > My 0.02c - no longer legal tender ... ;)
> >
> > Wesley Parish
> >
> > On Tuesday 04 December 2007 13:44, Nick Rout wrote:
> >
> >> On Tue, December 4, 2007 12:50 pm, Zane Gilmore wrote:
> >>
> >>> Any old text editor should do.
> >>> I've found kate to do at least syntax highlighting.
> >>>
> >>>
> > <snip>
> >
> >> Isn't it the case that the purpose of xml is to be machine readable and
> >> writable, but its not really for human writing & reading - except in the
> >> simplest of cases?
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
--
Sincerely etc.
Christopher Sawtell
