Re: syntax feedback

[Paul Prescod <paul@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Chris Lilley wrote:
> 
> > XSL is the third standard stylesheet technology to be used by the generic
> > markup world. The first one failed because it did not allow
> > transformations. CSS was never even a contender because it did not do
> > transformations.
> 
> So if the first was - what? Panorama stylesheets, FOSI ? 

FOSI.

> and the second
> is CSS, and XSL is the third, where does DSSSL fit in? 

DSSSL is the second. CSS ws not a contender in the generic markup world
because it cannot transform "generic" documents into something
presentable. 

> According to your
> logic, DSSSL was a runaway success because it provided not one but two
> ways to do transformation.

DSSSL is a relative success. It suffers from the fact that XSL was
announced soon after it was finalized. Still, the DSSSList shows that it
is getting quite a bit of use. It is probably the second most popular
stylesheet language after FOSI -- if we are talking about generic markup.

> Transformation and styling need not be tightly coupled. They can be, but
> that is just one possible design decision.

That's true, but you haven't really described any benefit to decoupling
them.

> There are other transformation technologies that can be used, both
> procedural and declarative. Personally I would far rather use a site
> that provided document-style XML and CSS, rather than some site which
> provided crappy table-based HTML "formatting"; 

It depends on who you are. If you were sight impaired and had software
that knew how to recognize "P" and "A" tags, what would you prefer, "P"
and "A" or "PARA" an "LINK"? If you are NOT sight impaired, do you really
care? (well, maybe YOU would, but 99% of the population would not)

> I agree that they are complementary. I would like to see some XSL
> implementations that actually implemented a style language, though. I
> know, there is FOP. I would like to see more.

The XSL style language strikes me as very immature. I would be leery about
spending too much energy on it.

 Paul Prescod  - ISOGEN Consulting Engineer speaking for only himself
 http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca/~papresco

"Sports utility vehicles are gated communities on wheels" - Anon


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