Re: Using Emacs nXML mode to validate XHTML5 using the v.Nu schemas: support for HTTP-based schema URI?

[Graham Hannington]

Hi Stefan,

To recap:

> Some schemas in the v.Nu GitHub repo [...] refer to file paths that do 
not exist in the repo. The paths exist only in the context of [...] 
vnu.jar
> These nonexistent paths prevent the schemas being usable directly from 
the v.Nu repo

... or even - and I infer from your email that you have experienced this 
issue - being usable when downloaded from the v.Nu repo.

The v.Nu source architecture and build process could be changed to allow 
the schemas to be usable directly from the source repo. Anything is 
possible. Given time, I might be able to do it myself; certainly, I could 
reorganize the schemas, and with assistance from the v.Nu developers - in 
particular, those developers with Java experience - integrate those 
changes into v.Nu. But I don't have that time: I have a day job.

More importantly, Mike(tm) Smith, currently the most active v.Nu 
developer, recently made this comment in reply to an issue I created on 
the subject:

 > I understand what you want and why but I don’t plan to provide myself 
from this repo/project a .zip release with the relaxng files, nor a readme 
on how to use the files outside the context of the checker.
> ...
> it would frankly take me a lot of time myself to go back and look at the 
structure of it all an figure out how to make a standalone set of static 
files for it (rather then the generated files the checker itself uses)

(For the complete text, see 
https://github.com/validator/validator/issues/251.)

... which is what prompted me to create a repo to provide those things at:

https://github.com/unsoup/validator

I frankly hope that the need for such a resource is fleeting. I would 
prefer the "canonical" XHTML5 schema, as Mr Smith himself describes it, to 
be completely usable directly from its GitHub repo.

However, achieving that goal will take more than time and effort. It will 
take political willpower to decide to change the source architecture and 
build process; and, yes, possibly funding, too (I'm not looking for this; 
while I'm interested in this work, I have a job that I want to keep).

But I'm a randomprole (my compound coinage :-) ). If you and other 
luminaries such as Mr James Clark think this is a worthwhile goal, then I 
invite you to raise the idea with WHATWG, the W3C, and perhaps also the 
Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Corporation (who funded the development 
of v.Nu). Besides, I think I've bugged Mr Smith enough for now.

Another comment (on the same issue) from Mr Smith:

> [The v.Nu GitHub repo is] the only canonical source for the XHTML5 
schema.
> But as I alluded to in previous comments, it’s not the goal for it to be 
that, but instead basically just a consequence of the fact that the schema 
is a necessary component of the code for the HTML checker under its 
current architecture.

What I get from that is: if the schema ceases to be a necessary component 
of the code for the HTML checker, there goes your canonical source for the 
XHTML5 schema. I have no idea whether there are any plans for that to 
happen, but still: he's thought about it.

Finally, given this from the WHATWG FAQ:

> Going forward, the WHATWG is just working on "HTML", without worrying 
about version numbers.

and even this comment from Mr Smith:

> the schema is not official in any way. It is not a standard. The only 
standard for HTML is the spec itself, and the only standard formalism for 
HTML is the prose of the the HTML Standard. The schema is an 
implementation (and of just a part of it).

I still look at those v.Nu GitHub repo release tag names such as 16.3.3 
(and even the commit ID), stroke my nonexistent beard, and think: if 
someone did want to refer to... but no, I will not finish that thought in 
writing. I hear the sound of jackboots.

I'm signing off for the night, probably to dream about Splunk (nothing to 
do with this email), but also a website that displays two columns, side by 
side, populated by commit histories via AJAX requests to the GitHub API:

- One column showing the history of changes to the v.Nu schema files
- The other column showing the history of changes to (as Mr Smith puts it) 
the prose of the HTML spec

Both columns linked to a common filter based on date range and search 
string. (When did some new markup first appear; in the spec, in the v.Nu 
schemas? Maybe even: staggered date ranges between columns.)

Now I'm imagining those changes charted in a Splunk dashboard... then 
Horton the elephant arrives and starts spawning *hive-mind 
number-crunching clones*... I really need to sleep ;-).

Graham

Fundi Software Pty Ltd  2016  ABN 89 009 120 290


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