comment on VOTable Format Definition v1.09

[Guy Rixon]

On Fri, 21 May 2004, Mark Taylor wrote:

> On Fri, 21 May 2004, Francois Ochsenbein wrote:
>
> > >Finally, I may have mentioned this one about the namespace.  I think it
> > >would be appropriate to base the namespace URI on www.ivoa.net.  In
> > >particular, I recommend we follow the convention used with the resource
> > >metadata schemas, and use "http://www.ivoa.net/xml/VOTable/v1.1".
> >
> > ===> Sure, in the final version, it will point there. But it also
> >      means that the physical document must be copied there,
> >      who is allowed to do this ?
>
> No, it doesn't mean that.  The function of the namespace URI is simply
> to provide a unique string of characters to act as a namespace identifier.
> There is no requirement for there to be a document at the end of it.

Sure, but the emerging convention is that the URI is also the URL for the
schema document. If we're not going to stick to that convention, then Id
rather see urn: format URIs that fake URLs.

Actually, it would be rather good to use IVORNs for our standards.  E.g.:

 ivo://ivoa/standards/xml/VOTable/v1.1

where we presume that the IVOA exec registers the ivoa authority-ID.  We have
our registry for resolving these IVORNs into document URLs.

Guy Rixon 				        gtr at ast.cam.ac.uk
Institute of Astronomy   	                Tel: +44-1223-337542
Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK, CB3 0HA		Fax: +44-1223-337523