Re: Please stop writing specifications that cannot be parsed/processed by software

On 05/06/2023 16:41, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen wrote:
> Marcus Reichardt <[email protected]> writes:
[...]
>> In that case, I guess it's relatively safe to say this is neither
>> very easy nor relevant since, fortunately you might say, nobody is
>> creating XML parsers from scratch.

Not counting every single CS student who is handed the task at some
stage in their undergraduate career, as an example of how you cannot
do it in the traditional one-night hack assigned to coursework designed
to be done over 2–3 weeks.

> In 1988, if I remember correctly, I heard a well known computer
> scientist explain [...] It's no wonder there are so few SGML tools,
> he said.  The spec goes out of its way to put unnecessary barriers in
> the way.

I don't think that was deliberate, but SGML was not written to please 
computer scientists. It was left up to the computer scientists (read: 
"developers") to make it work (now where have I heard *that* before?).

Peter