charset use of UTF-16 vs. utf-8

["Larry Masinter" <LMM@xxxxxxx>]

(Please set the "subject" when you raise new topics)

Folks, can we get a little perspective in this discussion?

Some applications of XML as a data representation mechanism
within protocols are for data streams that have little or
no text content at all, where XML is being used for its
extensibility properties and compatibility with other XML
components. In these cases, the entire "language" discussion
is really irrelevant. It's inappropriate to mandate mechanisms
that are not universally applicable.

Even in cases where protocol elements might contain something
understood as 'text', the text itself might have restrictions
from other parts of the protocol. For example, in the context
of a protocol that only allows UTF-8, mandating that the XML
data streams must also be allowed to be UTF-16 would be inappropriate.

Larry