Re: Formatting Objects considered harmful

Subject: Re: Formatting Objects considered harmful
From: Paul Prescod <paul@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 11:39:43 -0500
"Simon St.Laurent" wrote:
> 
> It's ironic that FO's - a single vocabulary for presentation - have more
> potential (in my opinion, anyway) for 'balkanizing' the Web than raw XML's
> many voices.

This isn't a problem with formatting objects. If we don't standardize a
concept of formatting objects then there are a variety of other ways to
consciously dumb down data on the server side -- e.g. conversion to HTML
SPAN and DIV. That's the nature of digital data. Notice that software
vendors also consciously dumb down the data that they send to client
machines. "Where's the source?" The only way to fight this is
sociologically: an Open XML Source movement, I guess.

-- 
 Paul Prescod  - ISOGEN Consulting Engineer speaking for only himself
 http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca/~papresco

"The Excursion [Sport Utility Vehicle] is so large that it will come
equipped with adjustable pedals to fit smaller drivers and sensor 
devices that warn the driver when he or she is about to back into a
Toyota or some other object." -- Dallas Morning News


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