Re: Streaming XML using XSLT [ was MS chat tidbits]

["Jeff Greif" <jgreif@xxxxxxxxxx>]

One could imagine an XSLT compiler with an optimizer that, on the flick of a
switch, could process a document on a streaming basis as much as possible
(depending on the details of the style sheet and the document), using
buffering of the input.  If the entire document was a list of elements that
needed to be sorted, the entire document would need to be buffered.  If only
one subtree of the document contained the list to be sorted, that subtree
would be buffered for the duration of the sort, while the rest could be
streamed.

Perhaps the diversion concept used in the macro processor m4 found on unix
could provide a model for this buffering process.  In that case, the
diversions are essentially output streams; something different would be
needed for XSLT.

Jeff

----- Original Message -----
From: DuCharme, Robert <Robert.DuCharme@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 4:04 PM
Subject: RE: MS chat tidbits


> >1. MS is considering "streamed XSLT support" with SAX. This would allow
> >their XSLT processor to process XML documents on a streaming basis rather
> >than requiring the entire document to be resident in memory.
>
> The program manager for the MSXML group says that they are "just
considering
> it," and there's a lot to consider. For example, how would they support
> aspects of XSLT that require the whole document to be in memory, such as
the
> "following" axis? Or would they just not support it?
>
> XSLT's approach of converting a tree to a tree as opposed to just being a
> filter that you can pipe data through does buy you something, and I
imagine
> they'd have to give up some of that when using a stream-based approach.
>
> >2. The document() function will be available in the next release of MSXML
>
> Another example of something that would really be complicated by a
> stream-based approach.
>
> Of course, I haven't written an XSLT processor, so maybe someone who has
> could provide some perspective?



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