Use of XML as a basis for e-mail

At 15.10 +0000 04-02-01, Paul Smith wrote:
><address>[email protected]</address>

That is not XML. That is a hybride of XML and ABNF. The
separation between localpart and domain address, and the
separation between domain elements, is in your example
based on ABNF specifications, not by XML.

Pure XML would be:

<address><localpart>fred</localpart>
<domainaddress><domainelement>company</domainelement>
<domainelement>com</domainelement></domainaddress>
</address>

This example clearly shows one disadvantage with XML, it
requires approximately twice as much space for the same
information as ABNF as used in e-mail.

Another problem with XML is that it cannot handle binary
data, which are important in e-mail, for example to include
pictures in messages or to attach binary attachments to
messages.

I am not saying that I am absolutely against XML in a
completely new e-mail system, just pointing out that it
will not be used completely. It will have to be used
together with other encoding methods, like BASE64.
-- 
Jacob Palme <[email protected]> (Stockholm University and KTH)
for more info see URL: http://www.dsv.su.se/jpalme/