[ANSI-Smalltalk] Welcome

[Bruce Badger]

On 14/11/2007, Ralph Johnson <johnson at cs.uiuc.edu> wrote:
> i suggest that we develop an XML format for representing the standard

I had imagined that we would initially use the wiki as the repository
for the text of the standard.

The wiki would give us a publicly readable vehicle for the standard
text, and would also capture who changed what when.  I had further
imagined that the wiki would be changed only in the light of
discussion on this list (following the principle of least surprise,
and all that).

XML is a structured format which certainly holds promise for this kind
of thing.  I would ask, though, whether use of XML is something which
is orthogonal to the standards process (something we can trend towards
as an agreed way of using it defined) rather than something that we
should wait for before proceeding?  I bet we could spend lots of time
deciding how do use XML before we got onto doing any useful work with
it.

Also, sticking with the existing textual format (for all it's faults)
will make it easier for the first iteration of the standards process
to deliver something of value because the current format has been
shown to be acceptable to the ANSI overlords.

In short: even if XML is the right long term thing to use, would
requiring it up front be more of a parking brake than an accelerator?

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