Misuse of namespaces, help is summoning arguments

[Simon North]

I am documenting C++ classes. We have created an authoring environment and the developers write the text themselves. I edit and output the XML instances. I've created my own code (DTD, schema, XSLT stylesheet and CSS stylesheet) and then I pump it into RoboHelp. Works pretty well. So far, so good.

However, IMNSHO, the XML instances are awful. The developer responsible has used namespace prefixes as if they were a cute part of the element name syntax. An abbreviation of the parent element name becomes the namespace prefix for its children. The instances therefore look something like this:

<IT:IT xmlns:IAE="IAE" xmlns:IAEA="IAEA" xmlns:IAER="IAER" xmlns:IME="IME" xmlns:IMEPV="IMEPV" xmlns:IT="IT"> <IT:N> ... </IT:N> ... <IT:IME> <IME:IME> <IME:Name>...</IME:Name> ... </IME:IME> ... </IT:IME> </IT:IT>

This is just a fraction; the nesting goes pretty deep.

Apart from finding this inherently ugly, my gut tells me that this is an example of something you should NOT do with namespaces. Before I go back and complain, I'm appealing for help. Am I just being pedantic? ... but if I am right, what are the convincing arguments why this practice is wrong?

Thanks,

Simon North
technical writer
Quintiq.

Quintiq Application Software BV
's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands