Representing the components of a string in XML -- should delimiters be represented?

Hi Folks,

I am creating an XML representation of the UNIX printf conversion specifier. Here is a sample conversion specifier and its components:

[cid:[email protected]]

% and . are delimiters. Should they be represented in XML?

Which of the following XML representations is better?  If you assert that one is better than another, please explain - in simple, concrete terms - why it is better?

(a) Does not represent the delimiters in XML:

<conversion_specification>
    <flag>+</flag>
    <width>7</width>
    <precision>3</precision>
    <specifier>d</specifier>
</conversion_specification>

(b) Does represent the delimiters in XML:

<conversion_specification>
    <start_of_specifier>%</start_of_specifier>
    <flag>+</flag>
    <width>7</width>
    <start_of_precision>.</start_of_precision>
    <precision>3</precision>
    <specifier>d</specifier>
</conversion_specification>

/Roger