Re: `High-level' format specifications with XSL?

[Kai Grossjohann]
> I use and love LaTeX because it allows me to `semantically' mark up
> a document and let the computer worry about making it look good.  I
> just tell it I want a section with the following heading, and LaTeX
> produces the right amount of spacing and the right font weight and
> size for the heading and so on, to make the output look good.

The LaTeX document uses semantic labeling; the LaTeX class file or
stylesheet determines the formatting consequences of that semantic
labeling.

> I'd like to use something similar for XSL.  While HTML has very
> limited structuring capabilities, at least I can say I want a
> subsection heading (<H2>) and let the browser (and with CSS, the
> user) worry about making it look good.  But from my limited
> experience with the xslj/jade combination, it seems that I can't
> just tell it I want to have a section heading.  Instead, I must tell
> it that it should be left-justified, the font style, the font size,
> the font weight, and the spacing.  I don't want to do that -- users
> should be able to configure their browser how they like, not have to
> accept my specifications.

I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of XSL.  An XML document
is like the LaTeX document, with the semantic labeling; the XSL
stylesheet is like the LaTeX class file.  Just as LaTeX may say that a
\section{} gets 14-point Computer Modern bold with a hierarchal
number, XSL might say that "sect1/title" gets 14-point Garamond book
italic.  XSL is exactly where the detailed formatting instructions go.
As with CSS, there is a mechanism for cascading the styles, so the
user can override or augment your formatting choices, but XSL is
precisely where this information belongs.

-Chris
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