Absolutely. "Meaning" is by choice of means
and application of means. The processor (a means) tells
you if the intent (the production) meets the
definition (the schema if valid, the processor
conforming rules if well-formed). Trust but verify.

http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pdf

Paragraph two expresses the fundamental resolution.
It is always a choice, or if you prefer, test or
experiment. The fundamental issue of semantics
is to agree on a control (the spec for global
agreement, the schema for local agreement).

How does it go: "God created integers. All the
rest is the work of man." An XML document is not
an integer.

Len Bullard
Intergraph Public Safety
clbullar@...
http://www.mp3.com/LenBullard

Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti.
Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h


-----Original Message-----
From: John Cowan [mailto:jcowan@...]
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2001 10:03 AM
To: Dan Connolly '; xml-dev@...
Subject: Re: What is an XML document?


Dan Connolly wrote:

> Hmm... I think I still disagree, but now we seem to have enough
> shared context to get back to the point:
>
> Does determining whether some particular object is an XML document
> depend on experiment? Surely not, right?

I think so; we have to look at it to see if its
character sequence matches the document production, etc.