Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!eastapps!dosai!eswarp
From: eswarp@dosai.East.Sun.COM (Eswar Priyadarshan - Sun BOS Software)
Newsgroups: comp.text.sgml
Subject: Class vs. Instance Attributes
Keywords: attributes
Message-ID: <6271@eastapps.East.Sun.COM>
Date: 22 May 91 13:32:13 GMT
Sender: news@East.Sun.COM
Reply-To: eswarp@East.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Billerica MA
Lines: 29


I have another in the series of philosophical questions being asked
about attributes. In the application we're contemplating, we
seem to be running into what could be viewed as 2 types of
attributes of an element:
	1. attributes whose value is the same for all instances of the
	   element. That is, the attributes are used to distinguish
 	   one element from all others. For example, all text tagged
  	   Foo is to be considered confidential. 

	   The DTD would define an attribute for Foo whose only/default
	   value would be, to use the example, CONFIDENTIAL=Yes.

	2. attributes whose value differs from instance to instance. That is,
	   the DTD would define a set of possible values an attribute
	   can have for text tagged Foo. Each instance of the element Foo
	   could have a different attribute value within that set.

Is the use of an attribute in case 1 ok?

Seems to me that instead of using attributes in case 2, nested tags should
be used. Use attributes only when talking about every instance of an
element?

Comments?


Eswar
(eswarp@East.Sun.COM)