Subject: Re: [xsl] Rescuing XSLT from Niche Status From: "Jacobs,David B." <djacobs@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 14:21:34 -1000 |
> You may find that the utility of the pull approach quickly fades, > especially in publishing solutions (though probably not as quickly in data > solutions). Of course the "pull" approach is untenable when dealing with > mixed content. This a common theme I've seen from a number of responses. While I would probably agree with your statement in the publishing arena, I'm not convinced that it does not scale for data solutions (which is my admitted focus and bias). It is very easy to introduce additional templates and use them with <xsl:call-template> or <xsl:apply-template> as the appropriate need arises. I don't see this methodology running out of gas. Maybe the misunderstanding is that people feel I am advocating the exclusive use of "pull" techniques, I am not. Instead I am proposing that "pull" techniques be used as the entry way and then it is very easy to gradually introduce various "push" techniques to enhance "pull"s capabilities. > Using "pull" approaches inhibit the sharing of stylesheet fragments. When > an organization views the deployment of stylesheets from many contributors, > it is critical to be able to share stylesheet fragments. Stylesheets using > the "pull" approach you are advocating are monolithic, they inhibit > sharing, and they cannot be specialized using importation. Stylesheets > using the "push" approach are granular and promote reuse of the investment > in stylesheet fragments. Organizations should be cognizant of issues of > stylesheet maintenance in the long term. While I agree that the most stylesheets produced this way do not lend themselves to being reused by others, I would argue that this is the case for most user's code regardless of methodology unless they have substantial experience in writing in clean modular way. If a user wants their stylesheet to be specializable they can move sections (that they want to be specializable) into templates that are then called using <xsl:call-template> or <xsl:apply-template> depending on the desired effect. This way the stylesheet could be imported and then have sections overridden. I agree this is less flexible than when everything is done via push and you can override anything, but sometimes it is a good thing to be able to constrain what can be overridden. I see it as much more likely that an organization would have a few smart people who would create components that the less capable users could draw on through imports and includes. Just to make sure its clear to everyone. I'm not saying "push" is bad, I'm just saying from an advocacy standpoint the learning curve is less steep and smoother if learned first from the "pull" perspective. David XSL-List info and archive: http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list
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