🚀 go-pugleaf

Brad Might <jbm@hal.com> writes:
|
|   In the above case, the attribute only applies to 
|   the element that contains it. Therefore, in case (1) above,
|   kuluyuk is data within <outer language=chinese> and therefore
|   is treated as chinese. 

This makes sense from a perspective outside SGML, but does ISO 8879
say so?  If attributes are passed by reference, a change in a #CURRENT
attribute will reflect on outer's attribute value, also.  In any case,
if #CURRENT attribute values are shared, are they so shared by the
SGML parser or the application software?  If they are not shared, at
least half the point with #CURRENT is gone, as I see it, and can
produce very counter-intuitive results, although the initial thinking
seems intuitive.  (SGML has some counter-intuitive specifications
which produce intuitive results for the SGML user.  In general, it's
the User which has been given primary importance in the entire stan-
dard, which I find (1) extremely uncommon, and (2) extremely good.)

|   <outer language=chinese>
|	    ha che
|	    <inner language=english>
|	        good food
|	    </inner>
|	    kuluyuk
|   </outer>
|   <outer>
|	    ha che
|	    <inner>
|	        kuluyuk
|	    </inner>    
|   </outer>
|
|   where the second kuluyuk is going to be looked upon as english
|   since the last value of attribute language in element inner
|   was english.

This implies that #CURRENT attributes are not shared, which contra-
dicts my reading of the standard, and which precludes attribute value
inheritance.  I agree that your example makes sense in general, but I
spent some time trying to figure out how #CURRENT works, and I think
that what makes sense in other contexts may not necessarily make sense
in SGML context.

|   What about making language a NOTATION?

I don't understand what this would buy us.  Can you give me an example
or explain what you would accomplish.

</Erik>
--
Erik Naggum             Professional Programmer            +47-2-836-863
Naggum Software             Electronic Text             <ERIK@NAGGUM.NO>
0118 OSLO, NORWAY       Computer Communications        <enag@ifi.uio.no>