Re: The role of media types for XML content

[Chris Lilley <[e-mail]>]

On Tuesday, June 14, 2005, 4:47:40 PM, MURATA wrote:


Mark>> >And do you want to specify a 
Mark>> > specialized media type when you reference the embedded RNG?
Mark>> 
Mark>> Ideally, yes, I think that would be valuable for the reasons I gave
Mark>> before concerning layering and security.
Mark>> 
Mark>>  [1] http://www.w3.org/2004/CDF/
Mark>>  [2] http://www.markbaker.ca/2004/01/XmlDispatchTest/

MM> You propose to use a specialized media type for a fragment and 
MM> to use a different media type for the entire resource.  It is a very
MM> interesting idea.  It might help the marriage between media types and
MM> multi-namespace XML documents.  But I do not think that MIME RFCs or
MM> URI/IRI RFCs bless it (at least now).  Media types have been intended
MM> as values of the content-type field of MIME.  

MM> You might want to raise this issue in the W3C CDF WG or W3C TAG, and
MM> you might even want to write an RFC that updates MIME RFCs or URI/IRI
MM> RFCs.

his is interesting, and speculative, future work. However, and not
distracting from the original specific issue:

MM> However, unless such significant changes are endorsed, I continue 
MM> to be very reluctant to register a specialized media type for 
MM> the RELAX NG XML syntax.

I don't see how the issue of how/whether to point to a portion of an xml
resource which happens to be in RNG, has *any* bearing on the issue of
what media type to use when RNG is served as a stand-alone document,
which is by far the typical case at the moment. There is no dependency
there.

MM> After all, it is ISO/IEC JTC1/SC34 that is requesting the
MM> registartion of a media type for the RELAX NG compact syntax. In its
MM> last meeting, SC34 decided to request this media type, but did not
MM> consider a specialized media type for the RELAX NG XML syntax.


So, now I am asking them to consider it. Will you convey this request to
them, or do I need to convey it by a more formal mechanism?

MM>  Since we are talking about
MM> media types in the standard tree, the media type for the RNG compact
MM> syntax can go to the IESG but that for the RNG XML syntax cannot.

I don't follow your last point there.




-- 
 Chris Lilley                    mailto:[e-mail]
 Chair, W3C SVG Working Group
 W3C Graphics Activity Lead