Efficient XML Encoding Town Hall
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SVG versionTrack: Town Hall, Core Technologies
Audience Level: Technical View
Time: Tuesday, November 16 at 19:30
Keywords: ASN.1, Content Repurposing, Conversion, Data Interchange, Data Representation, DOM, Encoding, Fragment, Handheld Device, Integration, Interoperability, Mobile, RELAX NG, Schema, W3C XML Schema, XML
Abstract:
Binary XML has been a controversial and hotly debated topic in the XML community for many years. The XML 1.x syntax is very flexible and provides a common information representation for a vast array of systems. The XML marketplace has generated a seemingly endless collection of low cost, high quality, rapidly evolving technologies that make creating, sharing, manipulating, securing and accessing information easier. Systems that have adopted XML are cashing in on the economic and interoperability benefits of the XML marketplace. Some believe the introduction of a second, more efficient encoding for XML information would drastically reduce or destroy the flexibility or interoperability benefits of XML.
On the other hand, the XML 1.x syntax was not designed with efficiency in mind. Consequently, it is often not practical or possible to use XML in systems where efficiency is critical or bandwidth is limited. This situation creates an interoperability rift between the systems that can process XML and those that cannot. In addition, it significantly limits the number of systems that can realize the benefits of XML. Consequently, there is a large and growing community that believe a second, more efficient encoding of XML information is critical for extending the benefits of XML to systems where efficiency is important, including mobile devices, set-top boxes, automobiles, gaming consoles, aircraft, etc.
Please join us for an open, lively discussion which will address the following questions:
What is an efficient XML encoding?
Why is an efficient XML encoding needed?
What systems and applications would benefit from an efficient XML encoding?
This really isn't XML, is it?
How will a second XML encoding impact interoperability?
Isn't gzip good enough for most applications?
What's being done in the W3C?: W3C Binary XML Characterization Working Group
Where do we go from here?
We expect representatives from the W3C, government, academia and a variety of commercial industries to participate in the discussion and represent points of view that support or oppose an efficient XML encoding.
