[Date Prev] | [Thread Prev] | [Thread Next] | [Date Next] -- [Date Index] | [Thread Index] | [List Home]
Subject: Data types and default values
Hi, A couple of reviewers have commented on the data types and default values in the language specification. Comments from a couple of reviewers include: * What do CDATA and NMTOKEN mean? * What does #IMPLIED mean? * Why does it say the default is #IMPLIED when my processor always does XYZ with it? * Why does it use DTD syntax (#IMPLIED) instead of Schema syntax, or something more general? My question is now - what should these values say? Considerations are: * CDATA, NMTOKEN, etc do have external definitions. * How can I explain these in words without overloading the attribute tables with definitions? That is, we do not want each attribute to define NMTOKEN or CDATA * I know many look to the default column to see what DITA defines as a default - but processor defaults are distinct from DTD/Schema enforced defaults My preference is: * For data type, stick to CDATA/NMTOKEN, because these are common XML terms ... unless somebody can suggest something better. Maybe "Character data" or "String" for CDATA, but NMTOKEN? * If needed, we can define those terms at the start of the spec (or reference definitions elsewhere) * If there is no DTD/Schema default, list "No default" or leave the column empty instead of listing #IMPLIED or #REQUIRED * I think that the "default" column should stick to listing only DTD/Schema defaults (not processor defaults), otherwise we run in to trouble with vendors / processors Other thoughts? Robert D Anderson IBM Authoring Tools Development Chief Architect, DITA Open Toolkit
[Date Prev] | [Thread Prev] | [Thread Next] | [Date Next] -- [Date Index] | [Thread Index] | [List Home]