Re: Leventhal's challenge misses the point

["Chuck White" <chuck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Chuck White
Creative Director
Advance Recruitment Advertising, Inc.
chuck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.advancerecruitment.com
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Miles Sabin wrote:

>Linda van den Brink wrote,
>> I am a non-programmer who had quite an easy time with 
>> XSL. You can do a usability study on me if you like 
>> :-) 
>
>I think the chances of a subscriber to xsl-list being
>representative are rather slight ;-)
>
>Cheers,

EXACTLY. How true. A subscriber to this list is probably pretty aggressive
in acquiring new technology. We also probably know Javascript better than
other designers out there.

So, although its true we non-programmers can program using Javascript, many
of us don't like it. We're not like you. We program because we have to, not
because we want to. 

As for who will actually use this stuff in a production environemnt...

I'm a creative director for an ad agency, and I wouldn't expect my designers
to know XSL. However, XSL is not so daunting as to prohibit key creative
personnel from, at the very least, understanding the underlying
architecture. I myself don't expect to become an expert at it (although I
can't stop fiddling with it, so who knows). As a Creative Director, I need
to know not just XSL, but SMIL and other relevant languages, in order to
make intelligent decisions about media projects. 

XSL is only a wee bit harder than HTML. But, when I first saw it, I was
truly aghast. It's just that it *seems* so different. But when I explain to
people that a template is just like a master page in Quark (I know that's
not technically correct, but it works for me), they get it quickly. I had to
overcome a few barriers, but now I'm a big, big fan of XSL. Some of the use
of functions is still a bit of a stretch for me, but I guess I'm finding
that it's all about querying. It's not any harder than going into MS Access
and creating a report. 

As for evidence that XSL is easier than Javascript et el, you can begin your
statistical analysis right here. I find it much, much easier than scripting.
Even the so-called conditional processing in XSL is simpler. If nothing
else, the syntax is easier to grasp because of its verbosity. 

XSL is no more than a simple set of declarative statements that anyone who
can do HTML can master if they sit down and work it through. I'll never be a
great scripter. I just won't. I don't have the mind for it. There's not even
a comparison between XSL and script in levels of difficulty. You probably
can't see that because most likely you can script with your eyes closed.  

I'm a creator and developer of marketing materials. XSL offers tremendous
avenues for our firm by making it easier to do such marketing. Those who are
trying to foist scripting (only) solutions on us are short sighted and
victims of a severe form of tunnel vision. Let US pick which solutions we
want to use for our media projects. And let the market decide if XSL was the
way to go.

thanks

Chuck White
Creative Director
Advance Recruitment Advertising, Inc.
chuck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.advancerecruitment.com
    --------------------------------------------------
Developing Internet Applications? 
Order my book from Amazon.com, Internet Explorer 5 Developer's Guide
========= direct link to order =========
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764532782/qid%3D927219241/002-265649
4-1602814


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