If I remember correctly it was because they didn't want to rely on a
DTD. At the time XML was created there SGML browsers were becoming
popular (at least in certain circles). Internet connections were
mainly dial-up - larger organizations had ethernet. The SGML standard
required that the SGML instance validate against the SGML declaration
and SGML DTD. The browsers downloaded the declaration, DTD and
instance, then before the document could displayed the browser also had
to parse the document against the DTD. If there was any connection
failure then your document wouldn't parse and you were left with an
error. It led to some (a lot) of frustration. Users were saying "I just
want to see the document -- why should I care if it parses".
XML was meant to be a lightweight version of SGML thus the requirement
for parsing against the DTD/schema isn't required. Without a
DTD/schema non-existent defaulting attributes in the document didn't
make sense.
Betty
On 2016-04-29 04:33, Dave Pawson wrote:
> Can anyone recall why attribute value defaulting was dropped
> when XML was created?
>
> Does it seem 'useful' to anyone now?
>
> regards
>
> --
> Dave Pawson
> XSLT XSL-FO FAQ.
> Docbook FAQ.
> http://www.dpawson.co.uk
>
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Betty Harvey | Phone: 410-787-9200 FAX: 9830
Electronic Commerce Connection, Inc. |
| Washington,DC XML Users Grp
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