> If given a choice, why would I use XML to store data and then have to use
> another language to parse and operate on it rather than just storing the data
> as REBOL and have it automatically parsed and usable by REBOL?
>
Two comments. (A) what do you mean by "another language?" You mean, other than
XML? Well, clearly, XML isn't an algorithmic language, so you have to use
something you can express parsers and so forth in to parse and operate on it...
and Rebol should be well-suited to that task. (B) The reasons for using a
non-native data format include (1) you can leverage defined data formats /
schemas for particular problem domains rather than inventing your own, (2) by
virtue of the previous, you can easily exchange data with other systems without
having to map your data model to theirs, (3) you aren't restricted to any
particular language / implementation for various system components.
If your system is entirely self-contained, never communicates with anything else
and especially never with anything written outside of Rebol, there's no good
reason to use XML. Just use Rebol blocks. But if you need to communicate with
anything else across space or time, especially if you're talking about
communication via the Web or with non-Rebol systems, you need something like
XML. And if you need something like XML, you might as well use XML. :-)
jb
>
> -Karl Robillard
