> Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 12:23:25 +0200
> From: Gisle Hannemyr <[log in to unmask]>
> ...
> I.e. I propose that that the document includes authoritative
> examples to show how to deal with non-ASCII character sets.
> By this I mean that examples such as the following should be added
> to [DCHTML]:
I too wish the consensus on these areas of internationalization were
further along than they are. We can't be authoritative about a topic
that has had so little discussion. Fortunately, the document is silent
about these areas, so the sensible examples you submit are clearly
allowed (we just don't know enough yet to actually endorse them).
By the way, there is _one_ example of a non-ASCII character (using
an entity reference). It's in section 4 ("Da Costa, José").
> 2. The dot-notation
> -------------------
> Some of the examples i DCHTML shows the use of dot-notation to
> refine DC properties (e.g.: "DC.Date.Available").
>
> My notion is that it is _not_ a good idea at the present time to
> "endorse" this idea by means of example. As far as I've understood the
> DC Initiative, this notation is still controversial (and personally, I
> think that this is a bad idea). The dot-notation isn't really a
> qualifier. Instead, it is a mechanism for refining a property.
The DC Technical Advisory Committee (which will correct me if I'm wrong)
believes that the dot notation question has been sufficiently resolved
to allow the cautious, non-committal appearance it makes in these examples.
If you read the draft closely, I think you'll agree that it commits
to very little. The draft carefully avoids using "refine" and does not
define "qualifer" because of the very concerns that you raise. But
since the beginning of DC, people have asked for a way "to stick one
element onto another element" to show an unspecified association, eg,
DC.Date.Created
DC.Date.Available
DC.Creator.Director
DC.Creator.Producer
People want element-sticking; the dot notation lets them do that
and nothing else. We never agreed on anything else.
No refinement is happening, it's just some elements stuck together.
Refinement might be a term that someone will define and make a rule
about, but no such definitions and rules exist now, so people are
free to do here what common sense tells them.
No philosophical implications should be read into the dot notation
in the examples. People will figure out later on what constitutes
good and bad element-sticking practices, and whether words like
"refinement" make sense on hindsight.
-John
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