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Binary XMLBinary XMLBinary XML 10/28/2003 11:07 PM Mig uel comments on the "Binary XML" postings from Omri and Dare, pointing out that only two standards would probably be needed (one for size, one for speed) to cover the majority of scenarios. I think this is correct, but in my opinion it's not the number of encodings that is a problem, but simply the existence of any "standard" encoding beyond XML 1.0. If you can remember just five short years ago, it was once a major decision for IT developers to choose what encoding to persist and send their data:
Every system used a different encoding technique, and every time you wanted to interop you had to write a parser. Most of us have written at least a few parsers for formats like IGES, W3C Log File, and so on. How much money was wasted by people writing parsers? Now fast-forward to 2003. When a system developer thinks about persisting and sharing data, she automatically thinks "XML". In 90% of cases, XML is the obvious choice and no debate occurs. Do you think that this happens because XML is a superior format based on size, speed, or any othe technical criteria compared to the options available in 1998? Of course not! XML is the obvious choice because programmers are lazy, many parsers are freely available, and it's "good enough" for most uses. The fact that XML is ubiquitous leads to plenty of parsing options being available, and more parsing options and tools leads to greater ubiquity. Developers can use XML in most cases and be confident that everyone else in the world will be able to parse out their data with trivial effort. Developers can argue about data schemas now instead of wasting time bickering about parser code and syntaxes. This is a huge contribution! The thing that many people fail to understand, though, is that none of this virtuous cycle could exist if XML parsers were not trustworthy. XML depends on the fact that well-formed XML can be processed by any parser, and non-wellformed XML can be processed by none. People deploy XML because they know it will "just work" no matter which parser is being used. People deploy XML because they know it will work no matter whether it is IBM or Microsoft in favor that week. Nothing about XML matters more than this promise matters. So, consider what happens when we introduce some new encodings which are not wellformed XML 1.0, but we call them "XML" anyway. When Jane in the IT department configures her EDI software to send an "XML" file to a partner, and the partner's machine rejects it, who is to blame? Jane will claim that "my vendor says that XML 1.0bin is a W3C spec, so your vendor is non-standard", while the partner will claim "my vendor accepts XML 1.0 so your vendor is non-standard". In fact, it is quite likely that vendors with multiple XML-enabled products would end up in situations where their own products failed to communicate with one another. Note that this danger exists with any variations from XML 1.0, and not just "binary XML". Reasonable people might argue that this is OK, and that IT pros will simply have to learn to distinguish between the four different incompatible types of XML (XML 1.0, XML 1.1, XMLfast, XMLsmall) and will have to manage the compatibility mismatches between all of their systems. But that starts to look a lot like 1998 to me. Developers will bicker about which XML to use, and will have to switch parsers based on the choice of data format. Systems will have to offer and consume multiple formats and negotiate formats between one another. I have a good memory, and I remember how badly things used to suck. Having a solid, reliable "obvious choice" like XML 1.0 means freedom from pain for millions of developers. Let's please don't mess with that too hastily. This is a GrokNews Entry: (what is grok?)Binary XMLGrok Headline matches for Binary XMLBinary Boy v1.94Binary Boy v1.94 05/17/2004 03:15 PM Download files from multiple news servers or from other users. Subject cache speeds up searches and preserves bandwidth. NZB support. Browse manually or schedule a search to collect files while you sleep. Hyper-Threading compatible. Search using single words, wildcards or AND, OR and NOT logic. Apply custom search rules to each newsgroup. Decode damaged or incomplete mpg movies for previewing. yEnc, MIME, QP-Lite, etc. [Shareware $29.95 30 Days 768 KB] Parse-Binary-0.05Parse-Binary-0.05 02/16/2004 06:41 PM Parse-Binary-0.04Parse-Binary-0.04 02/15/2004 11:45 PM Parse-Binary-0.03Parse-Binary-0.03 02/14/2004 06:32 PM Tree-Binary-0.01Tree-Binary-0.01 08/12/2004 06:18 AM Parse-Binary-0.01Parse-Binary-0.01 02/13/2004 06:37 PM Parse-Binary-0.02Parse-Binary-0.02 02/13/2004 06:37 PM Convert-Binary-C-0.56Convert-Binary-C-0.56 09/19/2004 05:41 AM binary-clock 0.5binary-clock 0.5 09/08/2004 12:30 PM A console-based binary clock. SendDiff 1.3 (Binary)SendDiff 1.3 (Binary) 09/08/2004 10:59 AM A script that provides notification about any change in a CVS repository. Parse-Binary-0.08Parse-Binary-0.08 09/08/2004 10:35 AM SendDiff 1.2 (Binary)SendDiff 1.2 (Binary) 09/01/2004 09:55 AM A script that provides notification about any change in a CVS repository. Binary Vortex v2.8Binary Vortex v2.8 04/25/2004 07:17 PM BinaryVortex pulls down pictures from Usenet Newsgroups. It is fast, efficient, reliable and easy to use. You can be up and running with BinaryVortex after typing in only a few simple setup options. [Shareware $19.95 30 days 779 KB] Convert-Binary-C-0.54Convert-Binary-C-0.54 07/01/2004 05:43 AM Tree-Binary-0.04Tree-Binary-0.04 08/31/2004 05:19 PM Convert-Binary-C-0.52Convert-Binary-C-0.52 05/25/2004 12:39 AM Convert-Binary-C-0.53Convert-Binary-C-0.53 05/25/2004 05:55 PM SendDiff 1.0 (Binary)SendDiff 1.0 (Binary) 08/18/2004 01:12 AM A script that provides notification about any change in a CVS repository. Binary ConverterBinary Converter 01/05/2004 01:28 PM Pardon my dust... Parse-Binary-0.06Parse-Binary-0.06 02/17/2004 06:25 PM Convert-Binary-C-0.55Convert-Binary-C-0.55 08/22/2004 05:23 PM Binary DB insertion using PHPBinary DB insertion using PHP 10/02/2002 01:58 PM Convert-Binary-C-0.48Convert-Binary-C-0.48 11/02/2003 10:51 PM Binary SearchBinary Search 02/21/2003 01:09 AM Programmers can be so damned stupid sometimes. Take me for example. I've been working to optimize and adjust some code at work. I can't tell you what it does but I can tell you that it's too slow and uses... arbilyst - ARm BInary anaLYSTarbilyst - ARm BInary anaLYST 04/11/2005 03:23 AM Technical Goal Don't reuse binary installerDon't reuse binary installer 03/13/2003 10:15 AM Users are cautioned to use the binary installer for Fink 0.4.1 only once on a given machine. Due to an apparent bug in Apple's Installer.app program, attempting a second installation on the same machine can result in permissions being altered in the machine's root directory, in some cases leaving the machine in a non-bootable state. If Installer.app presents you with an "Upgrade" button rather than an "Install" button when installing Fink 0.4.1, do not proceed any further! A new version of the binary installer for Fink 0.4.1 became available on November 5. The new version avoids the problem of the machine not booting, but even with the new version, users are advised to only "Install", not "Upgrade." (You can recognize the new version by its filesize of 12582912 bytes, while the old version had a filesize of 10541112 bytes.) XML, SOAP and Binary DataXML, SOAP and Binary Data 02/26/2003 07:51 PM This white paper discusses the architectural issues encountered when using opaque non-XML data in XML applications, including (but not limited to) Web services and SOAP. Use Cases: XML Binary CharacterizationUse Cases: XML Binary Characterization 07/28/2004 04:28 PM 2004-07-28: The XML Binary Characterization Working Group has released the First Public Working Draft of XML Binary Characterization Use Cases. Presenting documented examples, the draft will help to decide if standardized and optimized serialization can be used to improve the generation, parsing, transmission and storage of XML-based data. Comments are welcome. Visit the XML home page. (News archive) Send binary data in XMLSend binary data in XML 11/30/2002 02:34 AM CNET Nov 30 2002 1:03AM ET "Iraq did not have such binary shells""Iraq did not have such binary shells" 05/23/2004 03:21 PM Binary Neurons For DummiesBinary Neurons For Dummies 07/31/2004 10:33 PM Binary neurons are one of the most basic forms of computational intelligence, so much so that they are quite often described as being logic systems, and not intelligent at all. Either way, I will now teach you how to building and use a neuron in a simple environment. Binary data formats? Just say NO!
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