Re: RE: [xsl] logical operators in *test*

[Lawrence Mielniczuk <lwm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think you are missing Mike's point. It doesn't make any difference at all what development background you 
come from - you don't learn any new programming language by guessing at syntax. Many C programmers learn C by 
reading K&R's book (or one of thousands of others). They may have earlier used languages that used AND or OR, 
but clearly that syntax is not going to get through any C  compiler I've ever used.

---LwM---

> 
> Michael Kay said:
> 
> Why do people have such difficulty discovering this basic information?
> (I am seriously interested to know, because it's such a frequent
> problem).
> 
> 
> I can offer a theory, but is it accurate I can't say because I didn't have
> the problem myself.
> 
> My main assumption is that most XSLT developers come from developer
> backgrounds.
> 
> In programming, nearly every language has two AND/OR concepts: bit wise and
> logical.  Some clearly differentiate the two, like C with the && and &
> operators, and some don't.  That means depending on from which path a
> developer comes to XSLT, they may never have seen the "words" AND or OR in a
> program in their lives.  (This is similar to the procedural vs. functional
> confusion in XSLT.)
> 
> The other side, which isn't always thought of, is that English, as it is
> used by a lot of people, doesn't use AND and OR in a strictly logical sense.
> You'd ask: "How many people live in London and New York?"  We know what is
> meant: in a logical sense the query most likely means "How many people live
> in London or New York?"  And just typing that feel awkward.  Of course,
> there are times when we mean AND in the logical sense: "How many people live
> in the UK and earn more the 500,000 Pounds a year?"  This may drive some
> people to specifically look for unambiguous language operators for AND and
> OR rather than using the "words."
> 
> Is any of this right?  Well, probably not, although I'm sure if you were
> developing in C prior to moving to XSLT, you'd start by using && and ||
> rather than AND and OR.
> 
> 	Steve
> 
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-------------------------------------
Lawrence Mielniczuk
Systems and Electronic Resources Service
Logic School
Bodleian Library
Oxford OX1 3BG
Tel: (01865) 287174
Mobile: 0781 647 9176
-------------------------------------


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