title: Should Blank XML Elements be Removed?
body: <p>In the world of XML, is it better to leave blank elements in the file:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;widgets&gt;
      &lt;widget&gt;
          &lt;id&gt;5&lt;/id&gt;
          &lt;name&gt;Bob&lt;/name&gt;
          &lt;price&gt;5.33&lt;/price&gt;
          &lt;otherInfo&gt;Bob is a ball.&lt;/otherInfo&gt;
          &lt;dateAdded&gt;9-5-2010&lt;/dateAdded&gt;
      &lt;/widget&gt;
      &lt;widget&gt;
          &lt;id&gt;3&lt;/id&gt;
          &lt;name&gt;Mary&lt;/name&gt;
          &lt;price&gt;4.67&lt;/price&gt;
          &lt;otherInfo&gt;&lt;/otherInfo&gt;
          &lt;dateAdded&gt;10-1-2010&lt;/dateAdded&gt;
      &lt;/widget&gt;
  &lt;/widgets&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Or remove them:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&lt;widgets&gt;
      &lt;widget&gt;
          &lt;id&gt;5&lt;/id&gt;
          &lt;name&gt;Bob&lt;/name&gt;
          &lt;price&gt;5.33&lt;/price&gt;
          &lt;otherInfo&gt;Bob is a ball.&lt;/otherInfo&gt;
          &lt;dateAdded&gt;9-5-2010&lt;/dateAdded&gt;
      &lt;/widget&gt;
      &lt;widget&gt;
          &lt;id&gt;3&lt;/id&gt;
          &lt;name&gt;Mary&lt;/name&gt;
          &lt;price&gt;4.67&lt;/price&gt;
          &lt;dateAdded&gt;10-1-2010&lt;/dateAdded&gt;
      &lt;/widget&gt;
  &lt;/widgets&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>For parsing, it'd be easier if they were there, since there wouldn't be a need to check if the element existed before trying to fetch it. On the other hand, the XML file would not be littered with blank elements.</p>
  
  <p>Does best practices dictate one form of storage vs. the other, or does it depend on what data is being stored?</p>