Subject: Re: [xsl] Expand XPath with a few abstractions and use it as a standalone language ... run expanded-XPath through a preprocessor to generate equivalent XSLT/XPath From: "BR Chrisman brchrisman@xxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2022 20:26:54 -0000 |
I think 'jq' is an example along these lines. It's a great little tool for dealing with JSON and technically 'transforms' JSON, but the syntax is quite terse, making it difficult to be very expressive in a transform. It also has a reduction in functionality for not having an ancestor axis and various other pieces of the XDM as well. It's great for what it does, but I can't imagine it taking the shoes of xslt. In the end, to get the clarity and functionality of xslt, I don't think the syntax can really shrink much... particularly without losing the nice xslt-feature of processing itself pretty well. On Wed, Jun 29, 2022 at 8:35 AM Dimitre Novatchev dnovatchev@xxxxxxxxx < xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Hi Roger, > > Xpath already can be used as a programming language (remember our joint > paper at Balisage-2013?). > And it has fn:transform(), so rewriting XSLT in XPath seems redundant. > > I think that what XPath needs is a few additions to the XDM (such as > having types as first-class objects of the language) and writing some > fundamental function libraries for adding a few new fundamental data-types. > I have been working on this and have been inspired by the current results > and by what they show can be further achieved. > > I believe that by doing this XPath can be made at least as expressive and > powerful as Python. > > Thanks, > Dimitre > > On Wed, Jun 29, 2022 at 4:12 AM Roger L Costello costello@xxxxxxxxx < > xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> Hi Folks, >> >> Recently I was reading about Ratfor (Rational Fortran). Ratfor is a layer >> on top of Fortran. >> >> Fortran does not provide nice control structures such as the while-loop. >> Instead, you have to use labels and gotos. The resulting (spaghetti-like) >> program imposes a large cognitive load on the developer and maintainer. >> Writing Fortran programs is unreasonably difficult and error prone. >> >> So some clever fellow created Ratfor, which provides abstractions such as >> the while loop. The abstractions make it much easier to write and maintain >> programs. A preprocessor converts the Ratfor into equivalent Fortran. For >> example, the preprocessor converts the while-loop into equivalent labels >> and gotos. >> >> I really like XSLT. In my experience, however, the verbosity of its XML >> syntax imposes a substantial cognitive load on the developer and >> maintainer. This makes implementing large and/or complex programs >> unreasonably difficult and error prone. >> >> In my opinion, XPath, with its concise notation would be a superior >> language for programming large and/or complex programs. If XPath were >> enhanced with a few things, such as apply-templates (as was discussed a >> couple weeks ago), it would make for a programming language that is easier >> to write and maintain programs. >> >> In the spirit of Ratfor, it seems that it should be possible to write a >> preprocessor that converts "expanded-XPath" into equivalent XSLT/XPath. Has >> anyone done this -- created an expanded-XPath and a preprocessor which >> converts expanded-XPath into equivalent XSLT/XPath? >> >> /Roger >> >> >> > > > XSL-List info and archive <http://www.mulberrytech.com/xsl/xsl-list> > EasyUnsubscribe <http://lists.mulberrytech.com/unsub/xsl-list/965995> (by > email <>)
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