Re: [xml-dev] Why does XML call them "attributes" and not name-value pairs?
On Sat, 15 Jan 2022 at 19:58, Roger L Costello <[email protected]> wrote:
Liam wrote:
> they represent attributes (properties) of that element.
But, but, but, ...
In the past I made the mistake on this list of calling attributes 'metadata' (a.k.a. properties) and was subsequently scolded (paraphrasing):
Attributes are not metadata. Look in the XML specification,
there is not a single mention of the word 'metadata.' (Nor
does the XML specification refer to attributes as properties.)
Attributes are merely syntax. Attributes are merely an alternate
syntax to the <element>value</element> syntax. Attributes
have no relationship, meaning, affinity, context-sensitivity,
or anything with elements or anything else.
Did I misunderstand my scolding?
These sure look to me like whitespace-separated name-value pairs:
name="John Doe" employer="Acme Inc." age="30"
That is because name-value pairs in most settings represent attributes of some (real or data artifact) thing being described, where the name is the name of a property.
You can get here by asking "name of what", "value of what"? From where I stand the notion of attributes and properties is more strongly established than "name-value pair", and provides the context for understanding how the "value" encodes a claim about an attribute of something.
Dan
/Roger