Re: [xsl] Re: Over the years, have you created an XSLT library?

["Dimitre Novatchev dnovatchev@xxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Roger,
I just saw your first post on this topic and replied to it.

>  The lack of response leads me to conclude that developers do not create
their own XSLT libraries.

I think  that if there are a few standard and well-thought libraries of
XPath functions that everybody can use, this significantly decreases the
need to build one's own libraries.

> What makes XSLT different?
> What is it about XSLT that makes the development of a library an
unattractive investment?
> Must every XSLT program be one-off?

This is a question for people who use XSLT regularly. I can speak for
XPath, and if I see in my work coding patterns that are repeated again and
again, it would be natural to extract their generalized implementation in a
central repository, and then use this "write once" many times. Anyone can
now propose new functions and features to be included in XPath 4.0.

I would love to contribute with XPath libraries that implement
well-established and best-practice design patterns, and would always intend
to publish the results so that they would be available to everybody.

Maybe there are not too-many people at present that write XSLT/XPath code
regularly? Maybe the emergence of a "collected wisdom" needs to be
triggered by a specific "critical mass"?

If I were lucky enough to have my daily work in an XPath-based programming
environment, I would definitely develop libraries of functions that are
useful for solving common tasks, and would make these available to as many
people as possible.

Thanks,
Dimitre.



On Tue, Mar 4, 2025 at 2:00b/PM Roger L Costello costello@xxxxxxxxx <
xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> The lack of response leads me to conclude that developers do not create
> their own XSLT libraries. In other programming languages it is common to
> create a continually expanding grab-bag of functions, utilities, and small
> programs that may be used over and over from project to project. What makes
> XSLT different? What is it about XSLT that makes the development of a
> library an unattractive investment? Must every XSLT program be one-off?
>
> /Roger
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roger L Costello <costello@xxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 4, 2025 6:17 AM
> To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Over the years, have you created an XSLT library?
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> Over the years, as you've written many XSLT programs, have you created a
> library of user-defined functions?
>
> If yes, then I have two questions for you:
>
> 1. What functions in your library do you find yourself using most often?
>
> 2. As your library gets richer and richer, do you find that it takes you
> less and less time to write new XSLT programs?
>
> /Roger