Broccoli Redux

by Peter Saint-Andre

2006-09-13

Why is it that every so often someone decides to resurrect the idea of a binary encoding for XMPP? The latest such plea is here.

In the past I've likened the idea of "binary XMPP" to broccoli ice cream -- an oddball combination that's not very tasty. And yes, I'm aware of Efficient XML, but I still have my doubts. In any case, XMPP is simply a streaming application of XML, so any effort to define "efficient XMPP" would depend directly on the success of efforts to define "efficient XML" in the W3C. Working on this at the XMPP level is the wrong way to go about it. If you really care about "efficient XML", talk to the W3C.

BTW, I still think the idea of "binary XML" is oxymoronic and just plain wrong. If you want a binary format, don't beat around the bush -- go ahead and define a binary format! But don't call it XML.


Peter Saint-Andre > Journal