Re: [xsl] XSL - Transforming 2 XSL stylesheets from 1 XML file

[JBryant@xxxxxxxxx]

>    Andrew> it's a practice best avoided.
>
> This is harder to argue against, given the lamentable state
> of existing implementations.

I would argue against embedding this kind of information in the XML source 
document for a wholly different reason. I use XSL for single-sourcing 
solutions. I have been in the situation of having one XML source and 
generating two different output formats from it when a client asks for a 
third output format. I wouldn't wish to modify the XML source to support 
the new format when I could just write yet another stylesheet and go 
merrily along without ever touching the XML source. (And what about the 
fourth and fifth and so on down the road? I might have to mess with that 
XML source many times.)

As a general rule, I prefer to apply constraints at the latest possible 
point in the process. In this case, I don't want to set the media type of 
the output until I generate the output.

To trot out an old metaphor, water is just water. It's up to the 
generator, the farmer, the water treatment plant, and others to make good 
use of the water when it gets to them. It'd be silly to expect the water 
to know the uses people intend for it.

My $.02 for the day.

Jay Bryant
Bryant Communication Services
(presently consulting at Synergistic Solution Technologies)