RE: [xsl] The beginning of xslt?

Subject: RE: [xsl] The beginning of xslt?
From: "Andy Joslin" <andy.joslin@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:12:31 -0000
Steven C Kienle wrote :

>Actually, there are some companies which are starting to use PDFs as 
>web-based  data entry forms, as opposed to (X)HTML forms.  The goal is 
>to get what people  use on the web to better look like what the paper 
>forms they are used to using. Of course, if browsers supported XSL:FO
directly
> then PDFs maybe wouldn't be becoming popular for this....

I think that there is definitely a need for greater typographical and
design control of web-based interfaces than is currently allowed by
XHTML/CSS. To use PDFs as interfaces to the web though is a retrograde
step in my view, as PDF is a binary and proprietary format. It is also
at the 'end of the line' in the production process and almost impossible
to reuse/reflow at a later date (see the current PDF to XSL-FO thread)
(David, I think this is what I meant when I said 'static'...) Much
better to have something that is a standards-based open format (with
support for XForms, DOM events, etc.)

David Carlisle wrote:

> Yes all I really meant to suggest that perhaps the route to a "Fo 
> based browser" is to strengthen the "web-like features" of systems 
> traditionally thought of as "print preview" rather than to try to 
> graft FO functionality onto a system with an HTML history.

Not sure that enhanced or extended PDF viewing is the answer though. I
agree that there has been too much 'grafting' of browser technologies
historically, so I wouldn't necessarily advocate doing that either. I
guess that it would just be nice to feed some of the
typographical/design flexibility that FO offers into future versions of
XHTML. Perhaps by XHTML v.5 we'll be somewhere to having a print quality
web experience ;-)




Andy





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