Re: [xsl] status of FOP, Oct 2006

[Michael Hahn <amslotnik@xxxxxxx>]

Wendell Piez wrote:

> Which should we install for our students to run from the command line, 
> and why? Or should it be something entirely different, instead or in 
> addition? (As I said, we also show them other tools including commercial 
> tools, so they know that FOP != XSL.)
>
> We'd be obliged for any ideas or informed opinions.

Either is more than adequate for classroom use--actually, I've had 
clients/employers using both in production.  FOP 0.92 handles some 
aspects of FO processing differently than 0.20.5, but the differences 
generally represent more conformance rather than less.

If you elect to upgrade to 0.92, be aware that there are configuration 
file differences (both in the base configuration file and font 
configuration) that'll need to be addressed.

Personally, I think one of the advantages of using FOP in a classroom 
setting is that it requires more attention to font configuration, rather 
than simply picking up whatever happens to be installed on a Windows 
box.  For teaching purposes, reinforcing consideration of font selection 
and use by forcing the student to configure the fonts to be used in the 
the exercise is a positive factor.

The negative part of using FOP in a classroom setting is that, 
unfortunately, stylesheets written for one processor *still* aren't 
reliably interoperable with another.  Taking samples away from class to 
apply in an environment using another processor may have ...um... 
unanticipated results.

--
Michael Hahn
Senior Engineering Procedures Analyst
Cessna Aircraft Company Technical Publications