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000097_icon-group-sender _Mon Jun 22 08:02:49 1998.msg
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Return-Path: <icon-group-sender>
Received: from kingfisher.CS.Arizona.EDU (kingfisher.CS.Arizona.EDU [192.12.69.239])
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for <icon-group-addresses@baskerville.CS.Arizona.EDU>; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 08:02:49 -0700 (MST)
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id AA25812; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 08:02:38 -0700
To: icon-group@optima.CS.Arizona.EDU
Date: 19 Jun 1998 14:28:57 -0500
From: moss@tim.risc.sps.mot.com (Matthew Moss)
Message-Id: <6mee5pINNhc0@tim.risc.sps.mot.com>
Organization: Motorola, Inc. -- Austin,TX
Sender: icon-group-request@optima.CS.Arizona.EDU
Subject: Wanted: small meta-data language
Errors-To: icon-group-errors@optima.CS.Arizona.EDU
Status: RO
Content-Length: 1638
I'm hoping someone can help identify an existing language that fills
my needs. I've posted to the .awk and .icon groups as well, since my
needs are similar (and maybe a match) to those languages, but I am
unsure of how well they would work on binary data chunks.
Anyway, I'm looking for an existing "meta-data" language. My purpose
is to port such a beast to the PalmOS. Such a language would most
likely be interpreted, not compiled, would provide some methods for
pattern matching in both text and binary, and would operate primarily
on binary data (with text objects within the binary stream).
The idea is to easily allow 3rd-party applications a simple and common
method to accessing other databases. (IE, I might create a scheduling
app that reads through the built-in datebook database to see if there
are any conflicts). Such a language would define the structure of the
database and allow in-place modification and reading of data.
For example, assuming that the address book data structure was defined,
I could write C-code somewhat like this:
if (!strcmp ("Acme Company", GET_STRING(ref, "company")))
/* do action */
where GET_STRING is an entry point into the gawk/icon/sed/other meta-data
language, ref is a pointer to the data record, and "company" is the field
name within the meta-data language definition for the address book
database.
The whole idea is to provide one library with multiple meta-data
definitions for each library. I don't know if such a thing/language exists,
so I'm hoping someone out there can tell me "yes" or "no" before I write
the whole thing myself.
Thanks in advance....