This talk presents a perspective on ambiguity in invisible XML which differs from the common approach of finding strategies to eliminate or mitigate ambiguity in grammar writing.

To begin, I will give a general overview of ambiguity, situating the topic in the context of formal language theory. I will show how ambiguity is treated by some popular parsing algorithms, and explain why it can be a problem for parsers in terms of speed and efficiency. I will then consider some of the more common types of ambiguity encountered by users of iXML, briefly outlining some popular strategies for managing such cases.

Having established this foundation, the main body of the talk will consider situations in which ambiguity may be either unproblematic or actually desirable. I will suggest some methods by which ambiguous results may be made more useful without the sometimes considerable frustration of trying to remove all ambiguities from a grammar.

The talk will encourage iXML users to experiment with ambiguity and to write useful iXML grammars with confidence.