It's akin to the keyword proposal that I occasionally push, which is a
generalized version of the same notion. In that, you can specify a set
of keywords that are applicable to a given object URL. In the
WWWInline, you can specify keywords to match -- if something is found
in the cache/CD/whatever that matches adequately, that gets
used. Otherwise, the URL is retrieved. Same concept, just a little
more general, which buys us the flexibility of not having to assume a
particular set of standard objects. You could simply specify, say,
{ "Chair", "Queen Anne" } and if there was a chair of that style around,
it gets used. This way, you can have any number of "standard object
foundries" -- we don't have to agree on standard defaults. (A
prospect I wouldn't relish -- as we can see here, standards debates
are *always* a hassle.)
(Actually, the use of "foundries" above makes for an interesting
tangent -- this sort of uses objects in the same way as fonts get
used in HTML, with all the same advantages and disadvantages. Which
points up the fact that we want to *allow* people to specify exact
objects (as is done now, and as many people *want* for Web fonts),
but not *require* it...)
The biggest counterargument to this proposal is that this whole
notion doesn't belong in the language; rather, this sort of thing
should be handled by URIs, and the language should treat URIs
opaquely. Which makes sense, except that the URI folks haven't
produced anything *remotely* like this yet, and probably won't
unless we push them. (Yes, I know -- I really should write the
damned proposal myself. I'm just lacking in time to do it right.)
-- Justin
Who has something like five different
proposals he really needs to write up
formally, for this and VRMUDs and
behaviour and and and...
Random Quote du Jour:
On the Cold Fusion debate:
"However, the appropriate analogy is not so much the trauma/bereavement one,
as that of sitting outside a hospital's operating room as a succession of
doctors come out and make conflicting announcements: 'The patient is dead.'
'The patient is alive.' 'The patient is alive but a vegetable for life.'
'Dr. X is an idiot, whether the patient is alive or not.' 'Is not.'
'Is so.' And so on."
-- Bill Johnson