This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Elliotte Rusty Harold. Original Post: Android XML Weirdness Feed Title: Mokka mit Schlag Feed URL: http://www.elharo.com/blog/feed/atom/? Feed Description: Ranting and Raving Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Elliotte Rusty Harold Latest Posts From Mokka mit Schlag

Here’s something weird I noticed while fooling around with the Android SDK:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<TextView xmlns:a="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    a:layout_width="fill_parent"
    a:layout_height="wrap_content"
    a:text="Hello World"
    />

If the weirdness doesn’t strike you, look twice.

The attributes are in the Android namespace but the elements are in no namespace at all. This is exactly the reverse of the usual pattern. Can anyone explain this? I’m not sure it’s wrong, but it’s certainly strange, and violates the principle of least surprise.