MOD PARENT UP! Re:Errrm, folks, what's the big
on
The Future of XML
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Cheers, Qbertino. This is the best explanation of XML's raison d'etre I have ever heard.
I think what people might hate most is DTDs. That makes sense. Even their creator says they suck. There are many ways around them... Lisp can be one big full-service XML processor. Easily. With happy ending and no need for the DOM or SAX.
The bottom line is, XML is nothing (literally) until you spec YourML. And most people don't have a need for that! So it seems useless to them. If you are writing markup languages for application spaces that don't have them it's a godsend. And it is leading to improvements and much-needed standardization.
I've never understood why seemingly rational people whine about XML. It's like whining about mathematics. They're like that for a reason; their intrinsic structure provides their utility. It's not some arbitrary syntax decision that you can whine about. Don't like how modulo works or the concept of recursion? It's AXIOMATIC, baby. Don't like close tags? They're there for a reason.
As for a SQL replacement... have you checked out Berkeley DB XML? Have you found anything promising that you like?
I understand where you're coming from etymologically, but these words are not synonymous when used in the visual arts or professions. "Haptic" is essentially used to mean gestural, whereas tactile is used to mean related to the experience of touch.
Example: Jackson Pollock was possibly the most haptic painter of all time. He was also one of the least tactile.
In this context, the system is haptic because it encodes gestures. It is not tactile because it does not provide tactile feedback. You draw on air- it gets no less tactile that that!
I agree that iTunes uses relatively liberal DRM. However, I recently got a network streaming MP3 player, the Squeezebox. It's great and works as advertised, and has a feature rich open-source server app.
But guess what? Because of the DRM, it can't play any of the songs I have bought legally through iTunes. And Hymn isn't working any more. Which has led me to stop buying music on iTunes, naturally. There are definite limitations, and more will show themselves in the future.
Interesting to see that a former RIAA head would pick up on that fact, and understand the possible economic impact on emerging digital music sales models.
This reminds me of the work of the Swiss doctor Hans Jenny in the 60s. Dr. Jenny sent audible simple sine waves through various media and photographed the patterns that would emerge.
The results were often strikingly beautiful and symmetrical. His two books on the subject, full of high-quality imagery, were recently reprinted as one volume. He called his study of wave properties "cymatics."
The photographs illustrate the multi-sensory aspect of all phenomena. Frequency and wavelength show their existence in many forms and media, all representing the same phenomena. You can string a violin bow over sand on glass and see some incredible webs of patterns emerge in the sand. It's amazing to think that both aural and visual feedback from the same source can be produced so simply. And, importantly to myself at least, have both be aesthetically pleasing.
http://www.cymaticsource.com/ has the reprints of the books. I think they also relate it to a lot of more sketchy spiritual stuff that the good Dr. never mentioned AFAIK.
In this case in TFA, the researchers have seen the amazingly symmetrical and simple visual representation of the interaction between fluid, vessel, and frequency (rotation). It does make sense that such a simple phenomenon (rotating fluid) would have a simple, fundamental visual pattern. I bet it looks a lot more interesting than it sounds though.
But I'm not aware of any significant case law (perhaps I'm wrong; IANAL) outlawing sampling without permission per se. I think it would be easy to establish that the use of samples in a particular work constitute a commentary on the original, even a parodic commentary, which would be protected as fair use.
Actually, there was a somewhat high-profile case against Biz Markie in the early 90's. On "I Need a Haircut" he sampled a Gilbert O'Sullivan song called "Alone Again (Naturally)". The judge ruled it was copyright infringement, and barred sales of the album. Since then sample clearance has been a serious issue in electronic music and samples are run through legal for commercial recordings- open the liner notes on a sample-heavy hiphop album post 1992 and you'll see credits where the samples came from. In many cases the clearance fees have been pretty high and the sampled artist is given a cowrite credit, which means royalty points as well.
I can't remember if it was from the same case, but a judge ruled one bar of drums alone were not protected, which is why people still use sampled drumbreaks all the time tax-free.
Let's apply the author's logic to another industry.
Movies right now are terrible. So when I buy a DVD, I want access to all the data and design that went into the making of that film, in the package. I want the storyboards, sets, and of course, the actors. That way, if there are any scenes which annoy me, I can refilm them to my tastes. Trust me, if all of us got together (or maybe just me) and reshot Swordfish on the industry's tab (just buy the DVD!) that movie would be, like, 10000% better. OK, this analogy is a little loose, let me tighten my belt.
Music? I buy an album, I want the notation, the Pro Tools session with all automation and plugins data, and of course, the unmixed audio files (only 96 kHz 24-bit, please, we're talking SOURCE here). We could all show Rick Rubin what production REALLY means!
Source code just needs the one simple step of compiling to exist, so that means it is self contained and self replicating. So if we bring this analogy to cars, that means when he buys a car, he wants the FACTORY. C'mon, we all know we can make better cars than GM if we get the factory for $14,000 interest-free for 15 months!
Don't get me wrong, OSS is good. Just this guy's argument for "forced" OSS, or how great it would be for all software to voluntarily be OS is faulty and IMHO misguided. He wants to have a backstage pass for every concert (His caveat: as long as he buys a ticket).
It would rock if candidates were required to answer an issues survey before race entrance, which would then be posted online. Then selfless guardians could actually follow the pols actions on the issues and post accordingly. You could even caluculate a hypocrisy factor!
Anyone know of implementations of this? I'd love to have more info than horrible campaign ads and biased media outlets...voting tomorrow would be much more fun if I could get geeky on it with info!
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Cheers, Qbertino. This is the best explanation of XML's raison d'etre I have ever heard.
I think what people might hate most is DTDs. That makes sense. Even their creator says they suck. There are many ways around them... Lisp can be one big full-service XML processor. Easily. With happy ending and no need for the DOM or SAX.
The bottom line is, XML is nothing (literally) until you spec YourML. And most people don't have a need for that! So it seems useless to them. If you are writing markup languages for application spaces that don't have them it's a godsend. And it is leading to improvements and much-needed standardization.
I've never understood why seemingly rational people whine about XML. It's like whining about mathematics. They're like that for a reason; their intrinsic structure provides their utility. It's not some arbitrary syntax decision that you can whine about. Don't like how modulo works or the concept of recursion? It's AXIOMATIC, baby. Don't like close tags? They're there for a reason.
As for a SQL replacement... have you checked out Berkeley DB XML? Have you found anything promising that you like?
I understand where you're coming from etymologically, but these words are not synonymous when used in the visual arts or professions. "Haptic" is essentially used to mean gestural, whereas tactile is used to mean related to the experience of touch.
Example: Jackson Pollock was possibly the most haptic painter of all time. He was also one of the least tactile.
In this context, the system is haptic because it encodes gestures. It is not tactile because it does not provide tactile feedback. You draw on air- it gets no less tactile that that!
Excellent trousers, mate!
I agree that iTunes uses relatively liberal DRM. However, I recently got a network streaming MP3 player, the Squeezebox. It's great and works as advertised, and has a feature rich open-source server app.
But guess what? Because of the DRM, it can't play any of the songs I have bought legally through iTunes. And Hymn isn't working any more. Which has led me to stop buying music on iTunes, naturally. There are definite limitations, and more will show themselves in the future.
Interesting to see that a former RIAA head would pick up on that fact, and understand the possible economic impact on emerging digital music sales models.
This reminds me of the work of the Swiss doctor Hans Jenny in the 60s. Dr. Jenny sent audible simple sine waves through various media and photographed the patterns that would emerge.
The results were often strikingly beautiful and symmetrical. His two books on the subject, full of high-quality imagery, were recently reprinted as one volume. He called his study of wave properties "cymatics."
The photographs illustrate the multi-sensory aspect of all phenomena. Frequency and wavelength show their existence in many forms and media, all representing the same phenomena. You can string a violin bow over sand on glass and see some incredible webs of patterns emerge in the sand. It's amazing to think that both aural and visual feedback from the same source can be produced so simply. And, importantly to myself at least, have both be aesthetically pleasing.
http://www.cymaticsource.com/ has the reprints of the books. I think they also relate it to a lot of more sketchy spiritual stuff that the good Dr. never mentioned AFAIK.
In this case in TFA, the researchers have seen the amazingly symmetrical and simple visual representation of the interaction between fluid, vessel, and frequency (rotation). It does make sense that such a simple phenomenon (rotating fluid) would have a simple, fundamental visual pattern. I bet it looks a lot more interesting than it sounds though.
Hahahahahahaha Thanks for the laugh buddy!
But I'm not aware of any significant case law (perhaps I'm wrong; IANAL) outlawing sampling without permission per se. I think it would be easy to establish that the use of samples in a particular work constitute a commentary on the original, even a parodic commentary, which would be protected as fair use.
Actually, there was a somewhat high-profile case against Biz Markie in the early 90's. On "I Need a Haircut" he sampled a Gilbert O'Sullivan song called "Alone Again (Naturally)". The judge ruled it was copyright infringement, and barred sales of the album. Since then sample clearance has been a serious issue in electronic music and samples are run through legal for commercial recordings- open the liner notes on a sample-heavy hiphop album post 1992 and you'll see credits where the samples came from. In many cases the clearance fees have been pretty high and the sampled artist is given a cowrite credit, which means royalty points as well.
I can't remember if it was from the same case, but a judge ruled one bar of drums alone were not protected, which is why people still use sampled drumbreaks all the time tax-free.Let's apply the author's logic to another industry. Movies right now are terrible. So when I buy a DVD, I want access to all the data and design that went into the making of that film, in the package. I want the storyboards, sets, and of course, the actors. That way, if there are any scenes which annoy me, I can refilm them to my tastes. Trust me, if all of us got together (or maybe just me) and reshot Swordfish on the industry's tab (just buy the DVD!) that movie would be, like, 10000% better. OK, this analogy is a little loose, let me tighten my belt. Music? I buy an album, I want the notation, the Pro Tools session with all automation and plugins data, and of course, the unmixed audio files (only 96 kHz 24-bit, please, we're talking SOURCE here). We could all show Rick Rubin what production REALLY means! Source code just needs the one simple step of compiling to exist, so that means it is self contained and self replicating. So if we bring this analogy to cars, that means when he buys a car, he wants the FACTORY. C'mon, we all know we can make better cars than GM if we get the factory for $14,000 interest-free for 15 months! Don't get me wrong, OSS is good. Just this guy's argument for "forced" OSS, or how great it would be for all software to voluntarily be OS is faulty and IMHO misguided. He wants to have a backstage pass for every concert (His caveat: as long as he buys a ticket).
It would rock if candidates were required to answer an issues survey before race entrance, which would then be posted online. Then selfless guardians could actually follow the pols actions on the issues and post accordingly. You could even caluculate a hypocrisy factor! Anyone know of implementations of this? I'd love to have more info than horrible campaign ads and biased media outlets...voting tomorrow would be much more fun if I could get geeky on it with info!