Re: [xsl] [Ann] Oxygen XML Editor version 23 release

["Michael Kay mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I don't see what is unfortunate about people using XSLT 1.0. I don't see why
people dislike the fact that others are using it.

You're building up technical debt. The concept here is that you can spend $N
every year on updating and refreshing the technology you are using, or you can
depreciate your asset by $M per year if you don't, and you need to assess
whether $N exceeds $M.

The depreciation you apply depends on whether you're doing any ongoing
development. If you are, then you should factor in that moving to new
technology will reduce those development costs.

If you want you can also factor in risk (how exposed are you to some major
discontinuity that stops the whole thing working, e.g. a security
vulnerability), support costs (is there anyone who still knows this stuff?),
and staff retention (can you find good people who are prepared to work with
old technology).

So it's not a question of like or dislike, fun or no fun, it's a question of
economics, of minimising the lifetime costs of your system. Of course, the
calculations will come out differently for different projects.

Michael Kay
Saxonica