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Slash-delimited category names
The spec says about categories: <category> sub-element of <item>
<category> is an optional sub-element of <item>.
It
has one optional attribute, domain, a string that identifies a
categorization taxonomy.
The value of the element
is a forward-slash-separated string that identifies a hierarchic
location in the indicated taxonomy. Processors may establish
conventions for the interpretation of categories. Two examples are
provided below:
<category>Grateful Dead</category>
<category domain="http://www.fool.com/cusips">MSFT</category>
You
may include as many category elements as you need to, for different
domains, and to have an item cross-referenced in different parts of the
same domain.
But what if an element itself uses the forward slash, for
example: Hydrogen/potassium ATPase, which -- it's been pointed out
-- is a valid Library of Congress Subject Heading?
We think the simplest solution will be to escape the forward slash in that element, so for example:
Hydrogen%2fpotassium ATPase
We invite users of taxonomies in which this issue arises to comment on whether this will, in fact, work acceptably.
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