On Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 10:48 AM, <ned+ietf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Even if XML-specific tools like stylesheets prove less than useful in
performing manipulations of calendar data, there's still significant benefit
associated with being able to use built in parsing capbilities, espcially when
those capabilites are nicely tied to automatic creation of complex data
stuctures in various languages.
Starting with an XML Schema definition I can generate the corresponding data structures automatically with one mouse click together with the corresponding parser/serializer calls.
Starting from an EBNF description, I have to first read the description. This has already taken more time than working with the XML version would.
I then have to work out if the grammar is an FSM or LR(1) or something else. When I was a grad student I used to write yacc parsers but these days I have written enough parser generators that I can actually hand code quicker than it takes me working round the peculiarities of yacc.
So what takes me no time at all with XML is likely to take a couple of days and considerably more skill with EBNF.
Of course this approach works best in modern languages like Java and C# but I have generated similar tools for C and I am pretty sure the same tools exist for objective C. Its going to suck somewhat if you are coding in FORTRAN or Pascal.
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