XML.com: Microformats in Context

Are schema technologies a way to manage the flexibility that XML brings to the table, or just another weapon to put down users (”You don’t validate. Go away”)? Of course, the way I’ve posed these questions reveals my bias. I think that XML should be a tool for expressiveness and controlled diversity on the Web. I disagree strongly with the notion, recently expressed in a few quarters, that there are only a few viable XML formats, and that people should stop creating more. At the center of this controversy is the new Web 2.0 hotness: microformats. If you’re not already familiar with this phenomenon, first read “What Are Microformats”.

Uche was kind enough to allow me a sneak-peak at this article before it hit the XML.com MicroPress. As a result I now see Microformats in a completely different light than I had before, and have changed the focus and direction of how I plan to now include support for Microformats in various projects I have under development. NOTE: If interested, you can monitor the progress of several of these projects at http://dev.extensibleforge.net. Access to the SVN repo is available as well. Visit the previous link for more information.

In regards to truly understanding Microformats, and the importance that XML plays in the here and now, and in the future (in fact, ESCPECIALLY the future) you need to read this article. Very few things could be considered more important…

For example,

Attending your son’s and/or daughters soccer game is more important than reading this article. Catching a matinee during your lunch break, or even the lunch break in and of itself, isn’t. You can eat your sandwich at your desk while you’re reading.

Of course you could always print it out and read it while attending the previously mentioned soccer game… but whats the point of attending the soccer game if your not paying attention? With 25 nieces and nephews, and a son of my own, I know from experience… they notice this stuff and it has an effect (positive or negative, dependent upon your attention factor), whether you realize it or not.

The moral?

* Don’t print it out and take it to your son’s and/or daughter’s soccer game, or anything else that involves them.
* Do print it out and read while ingesting todays lunch.

I promise, your sandwich won’t even know the difference. Your kids will.

Thanks!