Subject: Re: (dsssl) Re: The Future of DSSSL From: Ian Castle <ian.castle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: 02 Jan 2002 15:31:50 +0000 |
On Wed, 2002-01-02 at 11:47, Karl Eichwalder wrote: > Sebastian Rahtz <sebastian.rahtz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > > > arguments for the future of DSSSL are good and fine, but if they don't > > encompass XML, they are evanescent vapours, IMHO. > > Not in my opinion. "XML" will not make go away my legacy encoded SGML > texts -- I just don't need namespaces. > I'm not so sure... All my new documents are XML - but processed with DSSSL. I can convert SGML documents to XML very easily (sx + friends)... Namespaces are a very attractive feature of XML, and quite hard to resist. I'm not using SGML features which aren't in XML - but I can see the need to use XML features which aren't in SGML. So XML may well make my legacy SGML texts go away. I'm sure the majority of _users_ of the toolset fall into this camp - but of course it is the _developers_ opinions that matter... Certainly I think the requirements of XML should be considered in the *Design* for a "new DSSSL processor" - even if things are never actually implemented ;-). However, in terms of implementation, the things that I am most interested in would be support for the DSSSL page model on the input side, and, on the output side, a PDF/PS backend (carefully skirting round the role of TeX, jadetex etc)... But really, it comes down to pragmatism... I suspect it would take a great deal of effort to create a new DSSSL processor - more than a single student could do in a single project? Conversely extending openjade is probably something that could be done in such a timescale. So unless there is someone with a lot of time, ability and enthusiasm ready to step up, I would be sceptical of any new grand designs becoming available (of course, I wouldn't want to put any one off). My view is also extremely coloured by the use I make of the tools - docbook markup, dsssl -> PDF/PS/HTML. Currently, [open]jade etc. does a pretty good job of this. I've just received a printed copy of the latest FreeBSD handbook - which shows that the output of jade/jadetex/tex can indeed be very good. The point being that for realworld use openjade is quite "finished" so there isn't, from my perspective, too much that needs to be done. DSSSList info and archive: http://www.mulberrytech.com/dsssl/dssslist
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