On Tue, 2002-02-12 at 17:33, Dan Connolly wrote:

TimBL didn't need to say anything for me to believe there was an institutional animus at the W3C against processing instructions.

I've been told a number of times that this was the 'final W3C word' on processing instructions, though phrased rather politely:

--------------- http://www.w3.org/TR/xml-stylesheet/

The use of XML processing instructions in this specification should not be taken as a precedent. The W3C does not anticipate recommending the use of processing instructions in any future specification. The Rationale explains why they were used in this specification. ---------------

Along with the excuse for using them IN THIS CASE: ---------------- http://www.w3.org/TR/xml-stylesheet/#rationale

There was an urgent requirement for a specification for style sheet linking that could be completed in time for the next release from major browser vendors. Only by choosing a simple mechanism closely based on a proven existing mechanism could the specification be completed in time to meet this requirement.

Use of a processing instruction avoids polluting the main document structure with application specific processing information.

The mechanism chosen for this version of the specification is not a constraint on the additional mechanisms planned for future versions. There is no expectation that these will use processing instructions; indeed they may not include the linking information in the source document. -----------------

The animus has also been noted quite regularly on xml-dev.