Re: [xsl] Why are there no XSLT processors implemented in XSLT?

[Dimitre Novatchev <dnovatchev@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Why are there no XSLT processors implemented in XSLT?

Let's face the facts: it isn't possible to find a single job for a
developer of an XSLT processor *in any language* -- not just in XSLT.

I probably can do this, but there is absolutely no stimulus/reason for doing
so.

This couldn't become a commercial product (would depend on someone
else's XSLT processor) and I doubt there is anyone that would finance
even a single programmer for a period of 1.5 - 2 years to produce
something unprofitable.

An educational institution is probably the most likely type of
organization that could venture into such kind of project , however
software projects in educational institutions are rarely finished,
profitable or widely usable.

It has been demonstrated that most (if not all) challenging tasks
involved in writing an XSLT processor can be implemented in XSLT.
Having done that, it simply isn't interesting to spend so much time in
the less interesting work of using and combining these together.

Michael Kay has implemented an optimizer written in XSLT.

I have had a generic LR-1 parser, written in XSLT, for the last five
years. Since around that time I have a parser for XPath 2.0 written in
XSLT.

If someone is convinced in the usefulness of producing an XSLT
processor written in XSLT -- convinced so much that he can finance a
group of 2-3 developers for two years, then this could probably be
achieved.


Cheers,
Dimitre.

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 4:49 AM, Costello, Roger L. <costello@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> I will take the following as an axiom:
>
> B  B  B Programs written to process XML should be implemented in XSLT.
>
> An XSLT processor is a program that processes XML.
>
> Therefore an XSLT processor should be implemented in XSLT. B (As an analogy,
many C compilers are implemented in C.)
>
> However, there are no XSLT processors implemented in XSLT.
>
> Instead, XSLT processors are implemented in languages such as Java.
>
> The implication of this state of affairs is this: "For real, manly XML
processing don't use XSLT; instead, use Java."
>
> Why are there no XSLT processors implemented in XSLT?
>
> /Roger
>



--
Cheers,
Dimitre Novatchev
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