[latexrefman-discuss] bug in the ML version latex2e-help

[Karl Berry]

Hi Peter,

Finally getting back to your email about latex2e.xml.

    Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 19:17:41 -0600
    the bug is in the downloading and not the file.

I've belatedly understood an arbitrary .xml file, even when associated
with an correct DTD, cannot be displayed by web browsers.  That even
makes some sense, since there's no reason why an arbitrary DTD would
have any kind of display information.

Admittedly the browser error message about an undefined entity is
strange.  Apparently browsers do not even bother to look up the DTD
(where the entity is defined).  Guess they aren't XML validators, either.

The purpose of the Texinfo .xml output is to provide what amounts to a
transliteration of the source, for further processing by other software,
rather than for human consumption.  So I've removed the links from the
latexrefman web page.  The .xml files are still in the repository, and
will be updated, in the unlikely event that they ever become useful to
someone.

If you want something you can actually view, use whichever of the other
formats you like.

Best,
Karl