Re: [xsl] Need some Advice

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

Try to persuade them to get an external consultant in - someone who they
respect (and who you respect) to review their XSLT coding practices. You can't
persuade them to change yourself, they clearly don't regard you as a fount of
knowledge even if you are - but you might persuade them that it's worth
reviewing what they do against external best practice.

Reminds me of the battle I had in my first programming job persuading people
to abandon GOTO statements. Fancy academic nonsense, they thought it was, this
guy has been spoilt by too much time in college.

Michael Kay
Saxonica

> On 4 Feb 2022, at 18:01, Mailing Lists Mail daktapaal@xxxxxxxxx
<xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Hello All,
> I need some advice from you all. I have been working with XSLT for last 15
years and I have now come across a contract opportunity with a financial firm
in Australia and I am like weeks into it. I was told that the clients are
bound with XSLT1.0 and XSLT 2.0 does not work. I was wondering why it does not
work. I asked if they used MS parser etc. and nothing of that sort is
happening. When I looked into the code i figured why xslt2.0 wont work. it
wont because of the wrong coding. xml elements are coded as text using &lt;
and &gt; and the text  is not in the xsl:text and  xpaths are  all
unbelievable . No one with even 1 year of exp with xslt will even fathom such
xpaths. there are circular xpaths, no keys .. no variables. using the same
complicated xpaths over and over again in consecutive lines of code. and its
all a mess. Super mess and it makes me cry.  So messed up that you can not
format the code because you will break the spacing in the text nodes..The
reasoning.? The one who did the initial work was a contractor who did not know
Xslt.
>
> part 2 of the story..
> I started coding and I have a muscle memory of doing the things in a certain
way ( hopefully the right way ).. I was pulled in into a meeting saying that
my code is messed up and that I am doing things the way that is against the
coding standards practice of company .. every line of the code was changed to
how they do it/// . keys removed, xsl:text removed, and every nightmare i
imagine was asked to make and by me. I checked in the code now they way they
do, knowing very well that it is messy..
>
> I am pulled everyday and told that my XSLT coding is not correct. I have
always stood as the XSLT conscience and people have learnt from me. Not
blowing trumpets of myself, but the current situation is very basic very very
basic. I did not do these mistakes on my first job with no experience.
>
> What do I do??
> 1.Resign and let them be as they want to ?
> 2. continue and do the coding the way they want and hopefully I will get
used to it in a couple of months and I suffer until then
>
> My heart breaks here to see the attitude that someone is holding my hand to
make me do bad things..... The attitude is clear. "you shall do as we say".
You can chuck your XSLT coding practices..
>
> Makes me remember a contractor who came home to cut trees. I asked him to do
it a certain way and he said he wouldn't do it even if I gave him 2000 GBP.
>
> Please advice.
> Dr. Tapaal Dakota
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