Hi Folks,
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ISSUE
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Quantitatively compare the complexity of SGML versus JSON versus (XML + XML Namespaces + XML Infoset + XML Base + xml:id + XML Schema Part1 + XML Schema Part 2)
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METRICS
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Assume that the complexity of a technology can be (crudely) measured using the length of its specification--the longer the specification, the more functionality that must be implemented and therefore the greater the complexity.
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MEASUREMENTS
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SGML: 150 pages
JSON: 10 pages
XML: 60 pages
XML Namespaces: 14 pages
XML Infoset: 17 pages
XML Base: 9 pages
xml:id: 11 pages
XML Schema Part 1: 196 pages
XML Schema Part 2: 150 pages
XML + XML Namespaces + XML Infoset + XML Base + xml:id + XML Schema Part1 + XML Schema Part 2 = 456 pages
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ANALYSIS
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The XML set of technologies is roughly 3 times more complex than SGML and roughly 45 times more complex than JSON.
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REFERENCES
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"The official SGML specification is over 150 very technical pages." http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/xml/xmlnut/ch01_04.htm
JSON RFC: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4627.txt
XML: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/
XML Namespace: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names/
XML Infoset: http://www.w3.org/TR/xml-infoset/
XML Base: http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlbase/
xml:id: http://www.w3.org/TR/xml-id/
XML Schema Part 1: http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-1/
XML Schema Part 2: http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-2/
/Roger
