Re: Observation

[Wendell Piez <wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Didier PH Martin wrote:
> 
> So you mean that actual XSL implementation do not inlude formating objects
> and this is why I don't see a lot of scripts with that. Do I reflect well
> what you mean?
> 
> If that is the case, XSL seems popular for its template more than for the
> formatting objects. If that is the case, always, DSSSL was not so popular
> not necessarily because of parenthesis but because people seems to prefer
> template based stuff.

There may be some truth to this. But the imbalance is probably also a
symptom of the greater demand as of yet for XSL to provide for -- let's
face it -- HTML, simply because that's what Joe and Jane Websurfer can
see.

Whether we are forever locked into HTML as a de facto presentation
language is still, I hope, an open question, although how a browser that
deals with FOs straight up will achieve any market penetration, isn't
clear to me. It would require a Next Wave, riding on one or more stable,
secure give-away browsers that handled FOs, probably carrying a small,
useful, versatile, powerful and well-documented family of XML DTDs, with
sample stylesheets, that would clearly outperform HTML in ways evident
to end-users (not just developers). And that would be true to the
standards and provide for interoperation with other vendors' products
and architectures! That's a tall order, even if it happens gradually.
But without it, will the present Cold War ever end? Leaving XML,
supported by XSL transforms, mainly on the server.

Also, notwithstanding the great work that's been done in DSSSL,
DSSSL-Online, CSS/DHTML etc., I think we still have a great deal to
learn about what actual formatting primitives for hypertext are or will
be. Forms-interface objects come to mind as an interesting area....

Folks, forgive the intrusion from one who is not (yet) an implementor;
but this thread struck a nerve on a topic I think is very important.
There is still a great deal of work to be done, and the FOs will be
critical.

Still, it's exciting to see the number of XSL implementations and
applications out there -- keep them coming!

Regards,
Wendell Piez

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Wendell Piez                            mailto:wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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