Gregor Hagedorn wrote:

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• Call for participation in email discussion list *

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Dear colleagues,

As agreed upon at the TDWG meeting in Harvard last month, a TDWG subgroup will attempt to analyze the requirements for a new standard for descriptive data based on XML. It is hoped that this standard will reach universal recognition to become at some point a successor to existing standards like DELTA, NEXUS, or XDF. The new standard should be carefully drafted and aggreed upon by consensus. We especially hope for the participation of those not present at Harvard.

Dear Computer Taxonomists,

Greetings, and welcome to the new discussion list...

As an attempt to start a discussion, I am posting this to ask: do we all really agree that there should be a new standard for descriptive data based on XML, as a substitute for DELTA (as well as NEXUS and XDF)? Or should we instead just try to improve one of the existing formats? As of myself, when I first read the specifications of "XDELTA", I was under the impression that in some way the DELTA format as we know it would then become obsolete... But what of NEXUS, or XDF? Has anyone considered of the integration of these formats plus DELTA into a single new, XML-based, format for descriptive data?

Just "food for thought"...

Best wishes,

-- + - - - - - - - - - - - - Mauro J. Cavalcanti - - - - - - - - - - - - + | Setor de Paleovertebrados, Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia | | Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro | | Quinta da Boa Vista, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BRASIL | | E-mail: maurobio@acd.ufrj.br | | Home Page: http://read.at/digitax/personal.html | + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + "Life is complex. It consists of real and imaginary parts."