Subject: Re: XML again

From: "Frank Dawson" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 10:59:38 -0400

The DTD defined in SCAP is primitive, at best. Unfortunately, with XML you
loose all of the strong data typing we build into iCalendar, because you are
forced to base the content models of elements on either content particles or
PCDATA. Ultimately, this requires that your application, not the parser,
must decide if the data integrity defined by the iCalendar spec is violated
or not. Bummer.

In addition, the DTD does not provide for the basic design features of the
iCalendar specification. Defining a DTD for iCalendar is not a casual
activity, but requires some indepth document design. Believe me, I know. I
took alot of thinking to provide a vCard DTD (see the related Internet
Draft) that was not an evolution away form the vCard; but instead a
functional and design equivalence.

- - Frank Dawson

>I'd suggest we submit either your DTD, or something equivalent (Lisa?) as a
>new draft spec, and mention explicitly that this is an *optional* format
>that vendors can choose to support or not.  Then, wait and see what happens
>...