Re: iCalendar as an XML DTD

["Doug Royer [N6AAW]" <dougr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Phil Wolff <pwolff@slip.net>
> 
> Please consider the relative populations of developers who know about 
> and are developing to the iCalendar spec vs. those now developing to XML.
> I've been hanging out in mozilla.org

I down loaded it last night - its not ready yet ether.

> newsgroups where about 10000 postings went up in the first two weeks
> they were online. imho, XML is going to be the dominant new protocol
> for 1999 and specs like iCalendar can ride that wave of acceptance by
> speaking the language.

Popularity would be a reason to look at it. Popularity would
also be a reason to make sure the protocol/bindings worked.
I still say after iCAP and iRIP - where these is MUCH work todo.

There is administration issues, ACLs, and more. How could an XML
standard be developed without the basics decided on first?

> By this fall, Navigator, Mozilla, and IE will have XML parsers and,
> according to all the specs I've seen, will not have iCal parsers.
> Wouldn't it be advantageous to have one representation for both calendaring 
> tools and browsers? If so, then XML is your only choice. The delay to rewrite 
> (2-4 weeks), might be worth the acceptance.

I have just started learing XML, I can't see how XML bindings
will be anything except a subset of the iCAP/iRIP functionallity.

I would also disagree on it taking 2-4 weeks. It can take that long
to understand all of the implications and vendor interoperabiity issues,
finding typos, technical erros, ... IF everyone had nothing else but
time to work on XML. Then there need to be time for feedback, and
cycling the issues.

We all will have some kind of programs that will use CALSCH. We all need
to make sure that the protocols that are developed are solid before
we can extend it to add something that the originators and those
of us that joined in later had not forseen.

In my opinion CALSCH is at a point where it is time to stop
addind new features - until what is needed first is out.

-Doug
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