[Tagging] Wiki Edit War on using/avoiding semicolon lists

[moltonel 3x Combo]

On 22/01/2015, Tod Fitch <tod at fitchdesign.com> wrote:
> With respect objects that have multiple values for a key, the arguments seem
> to come down to either:
>
> 1. key=value1;value2;. . . ,valueN
> 2. key:value1=yes + key:value2=yes + . . . + key:valueN=yes

3. key<indexseparator><index>=value

> As a programmer I can parse either set using any number of different
> methods.
>
> I am not against using a ":' in the key string to create name spaces and for
> grouping related keys. I think that is a very useful construct.
>
> But from a purely logical point of view, I'd say the second way misses the
> concept of "key=value" and is using "key:value" with a noise suffix of
> "=yes". Typically missing keys should be treated as having a value of either
> "no" or "unknown". Unless you can show me where key:value1="is something
> other than yes" then I may suspect you of putting values into the key field
> of the data.

You've given examples yourself where the value isn't "yes". The keys
addr1:housenumber and name_1 obviously don't have "yes" as a value.

Note also that nobody ever tagged "addr=42;Backer Street". It's not
"key:value" but "key:subkey".

> At present we have approached each case on an ad hoc basis. Sometimes using
> a number suffix by itself (addr2), sometimes preceded by a underscore
> (name_1) and sometimes by using a semicolon delimited list in the value
> field. By setting a simple convention for key with an array of values I
> think many of these cases could be handled in a simple, easy to remember
> unified manner.

Yes, I'd actually like to see this discussion happening. Seeing
"addr1" suggested when "name_1" is in use irks me (the separator isn't
the same). Another format that occasionally gets suggested is
"key[index]=value". And it might be a good idea to clarify the
interpretation with subkeys (is it "key_1:subkey" or "key:subkey_1"
?).