Interesting that David Megginson has this to say in the FAQ at http://www.saxproject.org:
Where's the formal language-independent SAX2 Specification?
There isn't any, and probably there won't ever be one. SAX2 in Java is defined by its interfaces and by the base of running code -- it's more like English Common Law rather than the heavily codified Civil Code of ISO or W3C specifications. Outside of Java, SAX is whatever programmers in that language decide it should be.
Curious that, while there is no formal SAX spec, implementations in other langauges seem to follow the Java API quite closely. (http://www.megginson.com/SAX/applications.html) For example, the Python SAX 2.0 lib includes a ContentHandler? class, with what appear to be the same methods as found in the Java version.
The readme for Perl::SAX says:
"XML::SAX consists of several framework classes for using and building
Perl SAX2 XML parsers, filters, and drivers. It is designed around the
need to be able to "plug in" different SAX parsers to an application
without requiring programmer intervention. Those of you familiar with
the DBI will be right at home. Some of the designs come from the Java
JAXP specification (SAX part), only without the javaness."
This suggests that there is a sort of "common law" or "precedent" approach to XML development, where established APIs from one language are used as the basis for APIs in another.
SAX-related issue in other languages
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/xml-sig/2001-November/006448.html http://mail.python.org/pipermail/xml-sig/2001-November/006457.html http://mail.python.org/pipermail/xml-sig/2001-November/006469.html
http://listserv.activestate.com/pipermail/perl-xml/2001-November/003380.html
by TAKAHASHI Masayoshi
