Re: [xsl] Is there a reason for not using XSLT 2.0 as a default

[David Carlisle <davidc@xxxxxxxxx>]

> In fact one of the primary reasons Microsoft has held back from
> providing direct support for the XSLT 2.0 spec is based on the last
> second 'split' of the 1.0 spec into the XSL (FO) and XSLT
> specifications causing an incompatible processor to be propagated and
> a support nightmare to be invoked.

I think that's a very skewed view of history:-)

The split between FO and XSLT into two specs wasn't that late in the
process : including the REC there were 7 drafts of XSL(T) only the first
two of which were combined with FO.

and was essentially irrelevant to the microsoft	 implementation 
as it never implemented the FO part of the draft even when they were
combined, splitting it just made it easier for the transformation-only
implementations to claim conformance to a named spec rather than just to
chapter 2 of a combined spec.

msxml2 implemented a language that had a passing resemblance to the
transformation language in the XSL draft of December '98. Even if it had
been a faithful implementation of that draft, releasing an implementation
of a draft spec in a full non-beta release of a piece of software
distributed to 90% of the world's desktops was a mistake, although at
the time I think many of us thought it was probably a good thing,
spreading the word... It's easier to take a different view with hindsight.

>  I would tend to think that the W3C has made the necessary changes to
> ensure that this kind of thing doesn't take place again

I don't think the W3C process can have any effect on such
things. Companies (or people) will take commercial decisions on whether
to release (or use) software based on a draft spec. If they do release
such software again they will take commercial decisions about whether
to change the software as later drafts come out.

David

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