Re: Proposal for additional Aliases to IANA registry of character sets

[ned.freed@mrochek.com]

> For better or worse, the IANA registry is used as a central repository of
> names for character set mappings. In particular, the XML Standard (http:
> //www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml) is driving the registration of many encodings:

For better or worse, the IANA registry is used for purposes it wasn't
originally intended for. However, it is not incumbent on the IETF to support
such usage, especially when that support would compromise the original intent
of the registry.

And while I am in no position to say what XML should or should not do, I will
say that I don't see how adding additional aliases for existing, widely used
charsets is of any benefit to XML. Indeed, I suspect it is just as harmful to
XML as it is to uses in the IETF.

> 4.3.3 Character Encoding in Entities
> ...

> It is recommended that character encodings registered (as charsets) with
> the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority [IANA-CHARSETS], other than those
> just listed, be referred to using their registered names; other encodings
> should use names starting with an "x-" prefix. XML processors should match
> character encoding names in a case-insensitive way and should either
> interpret an IANA-registered name as the encoding registered at IANA for
> that name or treat it as unknown (processors are, of course, not required
> to support all IANA-registered encodings).
> ...

> The IANA registry is thus serving the very important function of cross-
> correlating the different terms for charsets used in a great many different
> functions. On the principle of lenient acceptance, additional aliases
> should be allowed. Of course, the recommended names should be strongly
> preferred, in whatever is output.

I read this as saying that aliases _outside_ the IANA registry are permissible
in XML. I think this is a stupid thing for the XML specification to say, but
regardless, I fail to see how this translates into any justification for
registration of additional aliases with IANA.

				Ned