Subject: Re: Debug Support in XSL From: "Terris" <terris@xxxxxxxxxx> Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 13:30:56 -0700 |
Those who want to build user-friendly XML transformation tools should look at the more conventional database-oriented products such as: Sagent (also sold as Oracle Data Mart Suite) Metaphor (bought by IBM (?) some time ago) Informatica Microsoft DTS In my opinion Sagent has the best implementation. These tools are of course proprietary and aren't based on standards except (maybe) SQL. The transformations rely on reusable "capsules" of code. The capsules can be strung together graphically. While the overall structure of a transformation job is somewhat declarative, the code capsules are not. In contrast, unless you resort to scripting, XSLT is fully declarative. The products I listed are designed to work with very large relational data sets. They are just starting to incorporate XML, some more so than others. The schema for relational data is pretty much fixed. XSLT can transform data that conforms to virtually any schema, as long as it's XML. XSLT's job is therefore significantly more difficult. I believe that .. 1. XSLT is too complicated for average developers. 2. A decent GUI XSLT tool, per se, will never exist. A usable tool, however, might generate XSLT. 3. Reusable capsules are very powerful. If you can't leverage the work of other developers, say, on the Internet, then you have to constantly start from scratch. I don't know how many times I've read about the Muenchian Method only to be completely baffled by it. Tasks that are conceptually easy to understand should be easy to do. 4. Loading entire documents into memory is unrealistic. A streaming or hybrid paradigm is required for large data sets. 5. Most data today exists in relational databases. Extraction and transformation tools need to be able to incorporate relational data easily, with **no coding**. The database vendors will never support XML in exactly the same way, so some sort of tool will have to bridge the gap. Given that Informatica and Sagent are publicly traded companies, we're bound to see a company emerge that transforms XML and relational data in an easy-to-use and high-performance fashion. I doubt their technology will be fully based on XSLT. XSLT serves a critical purpose today and will continue to do so for many years to come. But XSLT is a tool for highly skilled programmers whereas "the rest of us" need an integrated solution. http://xmleverywhere.com --- In xml-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx, "G. Ken Holman" <gkholman@xxxx> wrote: > At 00/08/25 09:41 -0500, Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote: > >Do you or anyone else know if these WYSIWYG XSL > >editors will be handling the complexities of > >authoring and debugging the XSL transforms? > > Personally, I don't, which is why I'm anxious to see what Whitehill offers > to see the way they support their claims. It is exciting to think these > tools are on their way. > > I have seen "editing assistants" which walk you through the authoring > process giving you a montage of what you're working with, what you've done > in your stylesheet, and the results therefrom ... but I don't use them > myself and I wouldn't necessarily call them WYSIWYG editors from my > personal sense of what is needed XSL-List info and archive: http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list
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