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Re: [ddlm-group] Space as a list item separator

Dear CIF2 people: the time has come to vote on the list item separator issue.� Firstly: as far as I know, nobody is against space as a separator, so spaces will be possible list item separators.� Some may be against commas, so this vote is on whether or not to allow commas.

To summarise the arguments:

1. In favour of both space and comma
�� - comma is used in some other non-CIF contexts as a list delimiter

2. Against comma:
�� - A single type of separator makes the grammar simpler
�� - Space is used everywhere else in CIF as a separator (consistency)
�� - Comma can then be used in non-delimited strings

Space only: Nick, James (Nick is here)
Comma and Space: ?

On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 5:30 PM, James Hester <[email protected]> wrote:
More specifically, CIF1.1 excludes square brackets as the first character in a non-delimited string.


On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 9:33 AM, James Hester <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Herbert: as CIF 1.1 doesn't define lists, I'm not sure why you suggest that the example below is a valid tag.

On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 12:36 AM, Herbert J. Bernstein <[email protected]> wrote:
Sorry something got lost in the prior message. �It should have
read:

Dear Colleagues,

�Back to the question of commas. �If you accept the desirability of
having a CIF 1.5, commas in lists become very useful. �Someone with
a CIF 1.1 editor will be able to prepare a CIF 1.5 file for many
useful cases by doing all lists with commas and no embedded blanks
as long as they can make their lists fit on single lines. �In CIF 1.1

[[1,2,3],[4,5,6],[7,8,9]]

is a valid value for a tag, but

[[1 2 3] [4 5 6] [7 8 9]]

is not.


No, neither example is a valid CIF 1.1 tag.� CIF 1.1 explicitly excludes brackets as the first character of a non-delimited string.


Having the option of commas in lists will help to smooth the
transition for at least some people.



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--
T +61 (02) 9717 9907
F +61 (02) 9717 3145
M +61 (04) 0249 4148



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F +61 (02) 9717 3145
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