Re: More XSL Discussion

Subject: Re: More XSL Discussion
From: Richard Light <richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 11:04:22 +0000
In message <01bd42e6$543df5e0$LocalHost@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Martin Bryan
<mtbryan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
>Consider an XML file that contains in it a set of task elements between two
>paragraphs. Suppose I want to create an HTML ordered list from this set of
>task elements. I need to first identify when the first task occurs, and
>ensure I start my ordered list before opening the elemetn concerned. I then
>need to determine which is the last task in the sequence, and ensure that I
>close my ordered list at the end of that element. If neither of these
>conditions apply I need to simply convert the task into a list item. The
>problem is that unless the tasks are already in some kind of container it is
>difficult to create an ordered list container with the correct scope.

Surely the problem here is that XSL is trying to carry out in one step,
what DSSSL (very wisely, in my opinion) separates into two: a
transformation followed by styling.  

Using DSSSL, I have hit exactly the sort of problems that Martin and
others have outlined as an XSL problem: that the document structure
isn't 'right' for styling.  I have tried wading in with (process-node-
list) and such query features as are available in Jade, but it rapidly
gets messy.  With hindsight, I would tend to go for an approach that
_makes_ the document right for styling first, then applies styles in a
relatively simple way.

Is there any support for the idea of making XSL into a two-stage
process: transformation followed by styling?

[The irony of this is that the current MSXSL - because it allows you to
generate _any_ element type and not just valid HTML (whatever that might
be) - is actually quite a nifty transformation tool as it stands.  So
maybe we just need to run it twice: once to transform and a second time
to style!]

Richard Light.

Richard Light
SGML/XML and Museum Information Consultancy
richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


 XSL-List info and archive:  http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list


Current Thread