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> If you want to bolt interactivity on top of RSS then my question is why use an XML document with a very limited vocabulary when you can have a JSON document w

> If you want to bolt interactivity on top of RSS then my question is why use an XML document with a very limited vocabulary when you can have a JSON document with a wide (and extensible) vocabulary Quite ironic reading this. Do you know what the "X" in XML stands for?

mariusor 4y ago
I'm sure it's not for "Extendable RSS" or "Extendable Atom". [edit] Never mind, I'm (somewhat)wrong. Both stipulate extensibility: https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html#extendingRss https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html#extendingRss and https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5023#section-6.2 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5023#section-6.2 However in ActivityPub extensibility is specifically mentioned in the growing of the vocabulary to cover areas that the initial specification doesn't include (the way some members of the community created source forge related objects and activities).
- CharlieDigital 4y ago
  XML is a data interchange format specification that allows extensibility. RSS is a protocol specification on top of XML. Whether the underlying data interchange format is XML or JSON doesn't restrict extensibility. XML namespaces are designed explicitly around the idea that document schemas can be embedded and remixed. Ultimately, the mode and points of extensibility is a function of the design of the protocol and not the data format. ActivityPub wouldn't be more or less extensible had it been built on XML instead of JSON (you can make the case that it would be a less wire efficient implementation on XML).
  - mariusor 4y ago
    I know that XML is extensible, but my impression was that RSS and Atom are not (hence why Atom superseeded RSS) but looking at the specs it looks like they might allow for some improvement.
    - _heimdall 4y ago
      The last version of RSS actually specifically calls out that the spec is effectively frozen with the expectation that new features and vocabularies can be added in as modules https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification#roadmap https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification#roadmap

mariusor 4y ago

I'm sure it's not for "Extendable RSS" or "Extendable Atom". [edit] Never mind, I'm (somewhat)wrong. Both stipulate extensibility: https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html#extendingRss https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html#extendingRss and https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5023#section-6.2 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5023#section-6.2 However in ActivityPub extensibility is specifically mentioned in the growing of the vocabulary to cover areas that the initial specification doesn't include (the way some members of the community created source forge related objects and activities).

CharlieDigital 4y ago
XML is a data interchange format specification that allows extensibility. RSS is a protocol specification on top of XML. Whether the underlying data interchange format is XML or JSON doesn't restrict extensibility. XML namespaces are designed explicitly around the idea that document schemas can be embedded and remixed. Ultimately, the mode and points of extensibility is a function of the design of the protocol and not the data format. ActivityPub wouldn't be more or less extensible had it been built on XML instead of JSON (you can make the case that it would be a less wire efficient implementation on XML).
- mariusor 4y ago
  I know that XML is extensible, but my impression was that RSS and Atom are not (hence why Atom superseeded RSS) but looking at the specs it looks like they might allow for some improvement.
  - _heimdall 4y ago
    The last version of RSS actually specifically calls out that the spec is effectively frozen with the expectation that new features and vocabularies can be added in as modules https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification#roadmap https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification#roadmap