[osis-core] Element Review: <date>

[Steve DeRose]

At 04:47 PM -0400 06/16/02, Patrick Durusau wrote:
><date> has only PCDATA and <note> (optional).
>
>Recall Harry's question on specifying the data type?
>
>Comments?
>
>My reaction is that we should be able to specify data typing but 
>leave the option for it to be unconstrained. Not sure that many 
>ancient texts follow a date format that one could specify for data 
>typing. (Would be useful in more modern texts.)

I think I posted on this a little earlier -- I like adding TEI 
'calendar' attribute, and either specifying a particular standard 
form to us on the 'value' attribute, or giving a way to say what 
format you *are* using (including specifying standard names for the 
ones we anticipate, and the usual x- extension mechanism.

Also, should we distinguish date-range?

There is also the obnoxious problem of "dates" like "in the month of 
whatever" or "the ides of March" or "in the 5 year of Tiberius" that 
don't map for ISO forms or ranges very well. TEI never solved that, I 
think.

The easiest 'solution' I can think of for that would be to provide a 
reserved type, calendar, or value that says 'this is not a specific 
date, but a more abstrct time expression'. YEch.

-- 

Steve DeRose -- http://www.stg.brown.edu/~sjd
Chair, Bible Technologies Group -- http://www.bibletechnologies.net
Email: sderose@speakeasy.net
Backup email: sderose@mac.com, sjd@stg.brown.edu