>
> I believe this lack of standardization for serialization of
> XDM is both
> a "Problem" and a "BIG Problem"
> Before I extend the topic to "suggested solutions" I would love some
> feedback.
>
> Q: Does anyone else agree this is a "Problem" or a "Big
> Problem" ? Am I alone ? Why is this NOT a "Big Problem"?
Saxon has a serialization format for arbitrary XDM sequences: you can see it
by running a query with -wrap option from the command line. Perhaps oddly,
Saxon can generate this format, but there are no tools to parse it and
reconstruct the original sequence.
I seem to remember someone proposing that a format like this should be
standardised in the XQuery WG years ago - if only as a standard way of
representing the results of queries in the test suite. But the fact that
no-one was prepared to do the work suggests that not many people thought it
was a big problem.
> Q: Is there any known work in progress aimed at solving this problem ?
Not that I know of.
> Q: Would it be of value to solve this problem ? (and why not ?)
Yes. Whether the value would exceed the cost is anyone's guess.
> Q: Would there be any interest in tackling this problem in a
> formal way, such as a W3C recommendation ?
W3C groups are generally having difficulty finding the resources to complete
their existing work programmes, without taking on anything new.
> Q: If there were a recommendation approved would vendors be
> interested or willing to adopt / implement it ?
>
If there appeared to be sufficient support behind it, then yes.
Regards,
Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
http://twitter.com/michaelhkay
