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F E A T U R E

XML Special Report

Dishing Up Dynamic Content

April 16, 2001
By Ahmad Abualsamid

What's in a Name?

We refer to the various XML official specifications as recommendations rather than standards. This is because the W3C and its associated working groups do not constitute an official standards body; thus, they do not release official standards. In the past, the W3C worked with the ISO to make HTML a standard, and the W3C is feeling mounting pressure to make XML an ISO standard as well. Such a move has upsides and downsides.

One advantage is that the ISO is well-respected and often referenced in scientific work. One drawback: Adding one more layer of bureaucracy may not be in the best interest of XML.

As it now stands, the W3C's recommendations often play catch-up with commercial software. As of this writing, no decision has been made on what approach to follow. For an article that describes the different points of view on the subject, go to www.xml.com/pub/a/2000/11/devcon/standards.html.