Re: [xsl] When to use text()

[Michael Kay <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I wouldn't be blaming the programmers for that.
>
> When you step back, it is clear from all the explanations given, that
> the thing doesn't do what it says on the tin.
>

I think what Ihe is arguing for is that you should be able to read a program
without reading its specification and guess correctly what it does.

This can sometimes work if the language is sufficiently familiar to a language
that you are familiar with. In all other cases, making such an assumption is
dangerous and likely to lead you astray.

People who are only familiar with one or two languages A and B often wonder
why the language they are learning, X, is needlessly different from A and B.
It doesn't occur to them that the designers of X might be familiar with dozens
of languages, but have never encountered A or B.

Michael Kay
Saxonica