> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Conrad Schneiker [SMTP:schneik / us.ibm.com]
> Sent:	Wednesday, February 28, 2001 10:25 PM
> To:	ruby-talk / ruby-lang.org
> Subject:	[ruby-talk:11832] Re: RCR: Input XML support in the base
> Ruby
> 
> Dave Thomas Wrote:
> 
> # Following the raging success of my last RCR, here's other.
> # 
> # I'm finding myself using Ruby with XML more and more. However, I'm
> # reluctant to distribute applications that use xmlparser, as it forces
> # the applications' users to install both expat and the xml module.
> # 
> # So, I'm proposing that we include these in the Ruby core, and
> # therefore make them globally available. The expat license allows this,
> # so I suspect the main problem might be one of size (expat will add
> # about 200k to the download).
> 
> Hmm. Where have I seen this before. Maybe it was in:
> 
>     http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/11619
> 
> Where almost 100 hours ago Conrad Schneiker wrote:
> 
> # IMHO, all future Ruby distributions (tgz, InstallShield) ought to be 
> # "XML-ready" out of the box.
> # 
> # I think XML is going to be the "sort-of next big thing"--i.e. not *that*
> 
> 
> # big, but big *enough* to matter. (Where's my marketing hat. Ahh, here it
> 
> 
> # is. "Why dork around with Perl, Python, or Tcl when Ruby supports XML 
> out 
> # of the box?")
> # 
> # Hmm. Can this be an RCR?
> 
> IIRC, I made similar suggestions long ago, in part to facilitate the 
> development and deployment of Ruby/GTK+ applications with tools like glade
> 
> and such. (The announced plans of Sun and HP to make Gnome their standard 
> desktop further strengthens the case for out of the box Ruby/XML support 
> in this context.)
> 
> Well, it looks like I'm forced to support Dave's request.
> 
> As for the 200k increase: yes it's significant over a 56k modem, but 
> that's a small price to pay to conquer the corporate world. The Ruby 
> distro will still be small compared to Perl, which is still small compared
> 
> to lots of Java-related stuff. The Perl of 5-7 years ago took forever to 
> download because it was huge for its day, but so was the payoff in terms 
> of the growth of CPAN, books, and jobs. Seize the day! --> seize XML! --> 
> seize the world for Ruby! :-)
> 
> Conrad Schneiker
> (This note is unofficial and subject to improvement without notice.)
	[Bryn Keller]  
I'd definitely agree with this proposal. I think a built in XML parser (+
other XML tools, as we move along) is a must for the present day. It's not
even a question of seizing an advantage, just of keeping up - Python already
ships with expat AND an all-python XML parser, and hooks for plugging in the
parser of your choice.

Bryn