Small extension to the annotate proposal

Bo Thorsen bo at klaralvdalens-datakonsult.se
Wed Jun 30 09:05:30 CEST 2004


On Wednesday 30 June 2004 08:55, Joon Radley wrote:
> Hi,
>
> > > > Explicit formats specifications are superior to implicit format
> > > > specifications.
> > >
> > > There is only one format, the Kolab Format as define in the XML
> > > specification, or am I wrong about this?
> >
> > XML is not the format the format is e.g. Kolab XML Format
> > 1.0. XML is only the technology we use in order to implement
> > the format. The real Kolab format for now is the Kolab XML Format
> > 1.0.
>
> For how long will this be the format supported by the Kolab server and
> clients? This was my orginal question.

I expect this to be used for a *very* long time. And I don't see a version 
2.0 coming up anytime. Could be that we need a revision 1.1 at some time, 
but that should only require a few additions.

> > This might change at some point in the future e.g. towards
> > Kolab XML Format 2.0.
>
> Agree. But you proposal make provision for other formats, not just
> versions.
>
> > For the reasons given in my other mail (e.g. upgrade
> > szenario) it is better to make this explicit.

Well, your suggestion does not answer the question of how a group then 
upgrades to new versions. And that nice theory you have given is flawed 
because of difficulty in implementing it. I know all the patterns for 
supporting different versions of the same formats, but all of these see 
it from a code point of view and not from a usability point of view.

We agreed here upon an open format that preserves unknown tags. And the 
fields here are based on what have been in iCal and vCard for years (plus 
some that was missed).

I absolutely hate the idea of putting the version number in the 
annotations. The one problem it solves can not to me justify the smell of 
it.

Bo.

-- 

     Bo Thorsen                 |   Praestevejen 4
     Senior Software Engineer   |   5290 Marslev
     Klarälvdalens Datakonsult  |   Denmark
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