Meaning and Interpretation of Markup

Dr. Michael Sperberg McQueen
Chair of XML Schema Working Group, W3C

December 3, 2004
11 a.m. - 12 noon
Fuller Labs 320

Abstract

A key feature of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) and its offshoot the Extensible Markup Language (XML) is that anyone can develop a vocabulary of elements and attributes without waiting for some centralized authority to agree. SGML and XML provide mechanisms for defining the syntax of a vocabulary, so that various kinds of structural integrity checking can be automated. But what does the markup in such a user-defined vocabulary actually mean? Does it mean anything at all? And if so, how can the vocabulary creator document the meaning most effectively?

This talk will report on the work (in progress) of the Bechamel Project, which aims at providing an intellectually satisfying (and potentially useful) account of the meaning of markup. We formalize the intuitive notion of 'meaning' by considering the inferences a reader of marked-up documents is licensed to make, on the basis of the markup, and we consider patterns visible in the design of both 'colloquial' and 'artificial' XML vocabularies. The talk will outline one way a system for dealing with vocabulary-specific semantics formally might work, and describe some of the outstanding challenges faced in constructing such a system.

Host

Murali Mani
Refreshments will be served.

Maintained by webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Sep 27, 2006, 16:05 EDT