RE: Fw: Fw: W3C-transformation language petition

["Didier PH Martin" <martind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Guy,

<YourComment>
OK, say we want to address the issue of not just Web pages and printed
documents etc., but realise that Web applications are on the increase, in
particular on the intranet. So, maybe on the basis of that we decide it
would be nice to have...

<fo:window>
     ...content...
</fo:window>
</YourComment>

<Reply>
This is a very creative idea. Independently of if it is implemented with CSS
(yes it can), DSSSL or XSL Fos. This is something useful. Up to now,
formatting objects have been restricted to "print" Fo or look-alikes.
Mozilla ZUL is using markups but a solution based on FO is cleaner. So to
windows FO objects we should have also Toolbars, Dialogs, buttons, etc...
Funny, you said that, I was experimenting this idea with DSSSL FOs.

Here is the paradigm limitation we are living today:
The document viewer is a browser.
The browser show a page at a time
The browser is a platform application (Win32, Linux, etc...) and the
formatting occurs only within the application client area.

Good points: We are slowly progressing from a model where the UI world
consist of Empty windows (i.e. virtual screens) filled by platform
applications to the concept of "structure window" where the content is
defined with a resource language. The resource language is a FO language.
Actually the most popular one is HTML. Thus, HTML helped us move from the
window concept to the "structured window" concept.

Bad point: Only the client area is structured, the application is still
external and proprietary

Paradigm shift:
The concept of "structured desktop". All visual objects are defined with a
"formatting objects" language. Not only the client are can be structured (by
a language) but also the container and the "user interactors" like toolbars,
status bars, Window frames, etc... Thus, a transformation language like XSL
or DSSSL could create not only the client area content but also the
container and the interaction tools. This gives more freedom on how you
present the information to the client. Certain document type would need a
particular environment to be displayed and this is not necessarily a least
common denominator browser. So, if we have formatting object to define not
only the content area but also what around it and the user "integrators",
then the expression power is decoupled and so is the developers
productivity.

Thank Guy to bring this point, you reached a part of my own vision :-)

So, actually, I am working in our labs to create these FO that could create
"structured desktop" and I am creating DSSSL new FOs for this. Who knows,
this could maybe be part of the next ISO standard? And perhaps W3C XSL?

Enough talks, back to work now. As you can see there a lot to do :-). You
just awoke the visionary in me.
</Reply>

Regards
Didier PH Martin
mailto:martind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.netfolder.com

</Reply>


</Reply>


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