Re: B.10 Empty elements?


> Of the solutions proposed, this one seems the tidiest.
> It's disadvantage is it confuses the SGMLer and the HTMLer
> but it is minor confusion.  <e></e> confuses them a bit 
> let.  <e> confuses the parser and slows down the system.
> Is that about it?

Thre's also <e// which works today (!) (with SHORTTAG YES to enable NET),
and a few other variations such as adding to name characters
to allow <bang!> or <@whimper>.

Oh, I see -- <e/> is done by changing the net delimiter and only needing
one of them, and the asumption is that the SGML application will have
a pre-processor to generate the DTD and SGML declaration at the same time.
OK.  That pre-processor could just as easily change the instance to <e> I
suppose, though.

Clearly without a DTD an SGML parser is going to lie on its back and
wiggle its poor deranged paws in the air or wet itself, so people will
have to use programs to make DTDs from XML documents -- there is zero
(nil) hope that an unmodified SGML application can read an XML file.