[sword-devel] Multi-xref sets

[DM Smith]

On May 20, 2010, at 6:51 PM, Karl Kleinpaste wrote:

> DM Smith <dmsmith at crosswire.org> writes:
>> I don't see your point. I thought your original question was how a
>> module should be encoded, not how people should input a reference list.
> 
> I'm concerned with encoding in more than one context.
> 
> Existing refs in pre-made modules are just one example of how such refs
> get used.  But when users are editing their own content, and thus
> inputting a ref list, we cannot expect them to use osisref syntax.  So
> when you say, "I'd like to see scripRef have the passage or osisref
> attribute, preferably the latter," you seem to neglect that those kinds of
> qualifiers are not going to be used by people generating their own
> content.

I wasn't neglecting it. But now that you mention it, I'll comment. I see two kinds of user created content:
a) Direct module creation
b) Module creation via a SWORD application.

Regarding module authors: I think that anyone who can sling xml is of the caliper that it can be expected for them to create quality markup. OSIS's schema makes it a requirement for validation. ThML does not.

Regarding module creation via a SWORD application: It should hide markup and allow a user to do things visually. In this case, they'd create a reference list by picking a reference from a button/menu/whatever and an input box would allow them to enter free form references. On clicking "OK" the software would parse the input, converse with the user on error and otherwise create a fully formed reference. As you said, the details should be hidden. The SWORD engine has the ability to parse a string into a verse list and to convert the verse list into an OSIS ref.

Am I missing something?

In Him,
	DM