From: "Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>
Subject: Re: Data table text I/O package?
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 12:42:03 +0200
Date: 2005-06-21T12:42:03+02:00 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <2o3wvkpwoqv8.11k4w9yehrxxx$.dlg@40tude.net> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 42b7dccb$0$1138$9b4e6d93@newsread4.arcor-online.net
On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 11:24:34 +0200, Georg Bauhaus wrote:
> Dmitry A. Kazakov wrote:
>
>> No, you just have to use different delimiters between and within the
>> fields.
>
> "You just have to... ". No, gosh, the space was _mistyped_,
> it wasn't intended. This goes for any typo irrespective of what
> delimiter you choose. Now any reasonable CSV has far less offerings for
> error correction facilities for typos like these than any reasonable
> XML. By definition. (And, yes, I know you can construct syntax errors
> in XML, too, if you think this is an argument ...)
>
> Is it the typical Ada programmer's attitude to promote self-documenting
> bracketing constructs only for program text, but never for data text?
See below. It is a table. It has bracketing: rows and columns. This form
existed for centuries before XML. Who would print tables of logarithms in
XML?
>> This is why in Ada parameters of a procedure call are separated by
>> commas rather than spaces.
>>
>> Though is it about what syntax would be the best? Or is it about how to
>> parse something in a defined syntax?
>
> HAving a "best syntax" requires a measure for syntax quality.
> If you measure what a syntax can do in a heterogenous project
> by applying your personal aesthetic preferences,
> or your reading habits, or your programming skills, I have nothing to say.
>
> If you care about robust data interchange in a "sloppy
> field", you employ standard tools to help you get the correct
> data.
That is a different problem for which I would use a well-defined binary
format instead of fancy 3.15. What is the *accuracy* of this value, huh?
>> Now consider a space between / and >:
>>
>> <Distance km='3.15'/ >
>>
>> XML adds here nothing, but a huge readability loss.
>
> Oh well... You mean
>
> Distance'(km => 3.15)
>
> can be read well, whereas
>
> Distance'( km => 3.15 )
>
> is a huger readability loss? Come on.
Distance isn't a record. At least it should not be visible as such. Neither
distance is a type. The closest Ada's equivalent would be
Distance => 3.15 km,
or
Distance := 3.15 km;
But, lack of readability is not in the ugly </> brackets. Tabulated data
are readable because they are tabulated. That is: the names, the types and
units are *factored* out to the table header, which allows the reader to
concentrate on the *values*. Thus a table looks as:
Distance [km] Temperature [�C] ...
3.15 29.0 ...
2.10 14.4 ...
This is readable.
To make difference more visible, consider bitmaps stored XML format. Would
you be able to recognize a person's face in it?
--
Regards,
Dmitry A. Kazakov
http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2005-06-21 10:42 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 68+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2005-06-15 9:57 Data table text I/O package? Jacob Sparre Andersen
2005-06-15 11:43 ` Preben Randhol
2005-06-15 13:35 ` Jacob Sparre Andersen
2005-06-15 14:12 ` Preben Randhol
2005-06-15 15:02 ` Jacob Sparre Andersen
2005-06-15 16:17 ` Preben Randhol
2005-06-15 16:58 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-15 17:30 ` Marius Amado Alves
2005-06-15 18:41 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-15 19:09 ` Marius Amado Alves
2005-06-15 18:58 ` Randy Brukardt
2005-06-16 9:55 ` Jacob Sparre Andersen
2005-06-16 10:53 ` Marius Amado Alves
2005-06-16 12:24 ` Robert A Duff
2005-06-16 14:01 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-16 12:27 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-16 14:46 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-16 14:51 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-20 11:19 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-20 11:39 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-20 18:25 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-20 18:45 ` Preben Randhol
2005-06-20 18:54 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-21 9:24 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-21 9:52 ` Jacob Sparre Andersen
2005-06-21 11:10 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-21 12:35 ` Jacob Sparre Andersen
2005-06-21 10:42 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov [this message]
2005-06-21 11:41 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-21 12:44 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-21 21:01 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-22 12:15 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-22 22:24 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-23 9:03 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-23 9:47 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-23 10:34 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-23 11:37 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-23 12:59 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-06-23 14:16 ` Marc A. Criley
2005-06-25 16:38 ` Simon Wright
2005-06-16 13:26 ` Marius Amado Alves
2005-06-16 18:10 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-06-30 3:02 ` Randy Brukardt
2005-06-30 18:43 ` Jacob Sparre Andersen
2005-07-01 1:22 ` Randy Brukardt
2005-07-01 3:01 ` Alexander E. Kopilovich
2005-07-01 5:59 ` Jeffrey Carter
2005-07-02 1:54 ` Randy Brukardt
2005-07-02 10:24 ` Dmitry A. Kazakov
2005-07-06 22:04 ` Randy Brukardt
2005-06-30 19:24 ` Björn Persson
2005-07-01 0:54 ` Randy Brukardt
2005-07-01 21:36 ` TSV and CSV Björn Persson
2005-07-01 22:08 ` Martin Dowie
2005-07-02 0:05 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-07-02 1:10 ` Randy Brukardt
2005-07-02 1:20 ` Ed
2005-07-03 9:08 ` Georg Bauhaus
2005-07-02 0:07 ` Data table text I/O package? Georg Bauhaus
2005-07-02 1:21 ` Randy Brukardt
[not found] ` <20050615141236.GA90053@pvv.org>
2005-06-15 15:40 ` Marius Amado Alves
2005-06-15 19:18 ` Oliver Kellogg
2005-06-17 9:02 ` Jacob Sparre Andersen
[not found] ` <7adf1648bb99ca2bb4055ed8e6e381f4@netcabo.pt>
2005-06-15 15:46 ` Preben Randhol
[not found] ` <20050615154640.GA1921@pvv.org>
2005-06-15 16:14 ` Marius Amado Alves
[not found] ` <f04ccd7efd67fe197cc14cda89340779@netcabo.pt>
2005-06-15 16:20 ` Preben Randhol
2005-06-15 19:30 ` Simon Wright
2005-06-15 22:40 ` Lionel Draghi
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