Slashdot Mirror
U.S. House of Representatives Makes Resolutions in XML
RennieScum writes: "The House of Representatives is turning to technology with their test of XML for use with resolutions according to this article. It reports that the HR has made 100 DTDs and uses Microsoft Word and a special converter to do the job. Testing has begun and their goal is to start using it in January of next year. See also http://xml.house.gov/ And it looks like the DTDs will be free to use and distribute!"
So the government tries to update their use of technology to use an open format like XML and publish the DTD's and inevitably the first 10 slashdot posts complain that the government is too behind the times because that don't use new (and better) XML schemas! Talk about geeks! :)
Who said Freedom was Fair?
<bill status="proposed" name="CBDTPA">
<sponsor name="Fritz Hollings" constituency="Disney">
<violatesAmendment number="1">
<violatesAmendment number="4">
<contribution donor="Disney" amount="24500.00">
<contribution donor="AOL" amount="33000.00">
<contribution donor="National Association of Broadcasters" amount="25000.00">
<excuse>Promote broadband adoption</excuse>
<excuse>Save the arts from extinction</excuse>
</bill>
And it looks like the DTDs will be free to use and distribute!
Great, now I can make my own crazy laws! Yipee!
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
.... that the president can use an XSLT to make a bill into law?
Yes, they are using MS software, but this once they are using it to export things into a well documented, open format that could be made to work with anything (unlike a Word document). Sure, maybe different browsers aren't good at reading the XML the government is putting it out in the way that makes IE most comfortable, but at least it is in a DOCUMENTED format this time, one that the open source community can respond to and implement fairly quickly if there's incentive to (and I think having all major US government stuff in that format would be a big enough incentive.)
Is it still biased in favor of IE users right now? Absolutely, I won't deny that. But if it is actually a properly documented format for once then that bias won't last. This isn't a perfect situation, but it's a major step up from publishing things in proprietary binary word processor formats like they did in the past.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
Congress has always been full of lyahs and chetahs. That it's now full of schemas is really no surpise.
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!