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Re: attribute order (RE: Syntax Sugar and XML information models)

> Is there some kind of processing advantage for _parsers_ (not
> applications) to report attribute values in any sequence other than
> their original sequence?

Parsers can use dictionaries to report the attributes, which are more
efficient to access when given a key. Not sure whether this is a
processing advantage on the parser or on the application side, but it
should allow for faster overall processing.

Now, parsers could preserve the original order side-by-side with the
dictionary. In that case, not preserving the order simplifies the
implementation of the parser. Ordered dictionaries with efficient
lookup and insertion are rarely found as predefined types.