Fwd: xlxp-dev: XSL and editing tools

Subject: Fwd: xlxp-dev: XSL and editing tools
From: "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 09:57:03 -0400
Paul Prescod had an excellent suggestion (forwarded below) on xlxp-dev, the
XLink/XPointer list, regarding XSL, CSS, and editing documents.  The
discussion began with the issue of keeping track of links when your
document is being transformed, but it quickly became clear that links
aren't the only thing that's difficult to track.

It would require some cooperation between the CSS and XSL communities, but
the plan below sounds feasible - and even interesting.

>Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 16:19:35 -0500
>From: Paul Prescod <paul@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: xlxp-dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: xlxp-dev: XSL and editing tools
>
>David White wrote:
>> 
>> I believe you, and this problem will be hard for users to understand 
>> or accept. Not being able to use XSL to provide style for the editing 
>> of a document is a quite a conundrum which I've only recently 
>> recognized.
>
>I think that there is a deeply mathematical problem here. Some
>transformations are reversible: adding content but not removing content,
>some types of re-ording but not others. I'm sure the math is out there but
>I don't have time to find it.
>
>Editor vendors could either constrain themselves to CSS or develop an XSL
>subset that is reversible. My guess is that CSS is good enough. The
>reversible subset might be slightly more powerful but do we need that
>power? That's debatable.
>
>This is actually good news for companies like Arbortext. We can once and
>for all put a stake through the heart of "WYSIWYG" XML editing. The best
>user interface for editing is probably not the best user interface for
>viewing -- that's why we develop transformation languages!
>
>Let me suggest a way forward: what if XML editor vendors got together and
>defined extensions to CSS specific to authoring? Someone could also write
>a tool that converted simple parts of XSL styleshets to CSS-E and vice
>versa.
>
>-- 
> Paul Prescod  - ISOGEN Consulting Engineer speaking for only himself
> http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca/~papresco
>
>"The Excursion [Sport Utility Vehicle] is so large that it will come
>equipped with adjustable pedals to fit smaller drivers and sensor 
>devices that warn the driver when he or she is about to back into a
>Toyota or some other object." -- Dallas Morning News

Simon St.Laurent
XML: A Primer
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http://www.simonstl.com


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