On Tue, Jan 15, 2002 at 08:40:05PM +0000, Duncan Cameron wrote:
>  Barrie
>  
>  How is this different to XML::SAX::Simple which Matt announced
>  recently?

Good question :)  I wrote this because XML::SAX::Simple is not what I
thought it was: a SAX processor that I could use to turn SAX events in
to data structures or vice versa.  Just added this to the docs:

    This is different from L<XML::SAX::Simple|XML::SAX::Simple>  in that this
    is a SAX handler that can be used at the end of any SAX processing
    chain.  XML::SAX::Simple is a subclass of XML::Simple that hooks
    XML::Simple up to XML::SAX::ParserFactory internally.  XML::SAX::Simple
    cannot be used to receive or send SAX events, though it does use them
    under the hood.

>  Two points:
>  1) shouldn't this be within the XML::Simple namespace, e.g.
>  something like XML::Simple::Builder. In fact I thought that I read
>  that Grant McLean was already working on this.

Adapter classes like this usually could "naturally" be in either
namespace, I happened to drop it in XML::Handler because it's a SAX
handler and that's my habitual place for them.  And, if Grant's already
working on this, he'll be wanting that name for his package, I suspect.

>  2) aren't we in danger of namespace overload/confusion with all the
>  recent packages, i.e. XML::SAX::Machines, XML::Handler::xxx and
>  XML::Filter::xxx.
>  Maybe everthing to do with machines should be within the XML::SAXMachines
>  namespace, and XML::Filter and XML::Handler should contain only
>  general purpose handlers or filters.

FWIW, everything I've put in the XML::Filter or XML::Handler namespaces
are indeed SAX filters and SAX handlers; none of them are machines.

All the machines are under XML::SAX because they seem to fit there:
XML::SAX::Pipeline, XML::SAX::Manifold, XML::SAX::ByRecord, and
XML::SAX::Machine.  These are "generic" XML::SAX tools, I just happen to
group them all in to being "machines" and make them all subclass the
XML::SAX::Machine class.  BTW, XML::SAX::Machines is the high-level
interface to all of the above.

>  I've not read the docs with all your new packages so I might be just
>  confusing myself.

The XML::* namespace is a bit confusing, especially since people aren't
(and will never be) consistent in their use.  I won't pick on any
modules here by name :).  This is a side effect of the facts that XML is
a *huge* umbrella with a lot of technologies under it and that CPAN is a
commons and isn't regulated or controlled.  Both of these things are
good things, IMHO, but it will lead to oddities.

My feeling (YMMV) is that:

    XML::             "pure" XML modules that aren't really to do with
                      some other "ML", like RDF
    XML::SAX::        modules that manage and deal with generic SAX
                      and are not generators, filters, or handlers.

    XML::Generator::  things that emit but don't accept SAX events
    XML::Filter::     things that can accept and emit sax events
    XML::Handler::    things that accept but don't emit

However, I didn't create the namespaces or anything, so I just try to
get by with them :).

- Barrie
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