Re: XObjects

David Brownell (db@Eng.Sun.COM)
Mon, 12 Oct 1998 16:13:43 -0700


Michael Kay wrote:
>
> I found with experience
> that it was simpler to define the association between an element-type and an
> element-handler class using a setElementHandler(tag, class) interface,
> rather than defining it in the element handler for the parent class. For
> example, it works far better when the processing for a <A> tag is identical
> regardless whether it appears within an <X>, a <Y> or a <Z>.

This was our conclusion too. If nothing else it's the 80/20 tradeoff
to say this is how it works ... other cases can be handled by letting
the <X>...</X> elements handle child <A ...> tags as appropriate.

Also, context-specific associations fly in the face of DOM support,
since DOM factories provide no such context for element creation.
One could forgo compatibility with that model; but why?

- Dave