Modes (or lack thereof)

I don't want to be negative but...

Why is the "mode" capability missing from the new spec.  This is one of the
most important aspects of XSL.  The ability to use the same XML element in
different places in the output, using different style rules, is crucial.
This missing functionality is the primary reason why the MSXSL processor is
of limited use.
Maybe I'm missing something in the spec but how would I do something like:
use the chapter headings in a table of contents and also show up at the top
of a chapter.  In the TOC I want it as a list-item and in the chapter I
want it as a heading.

The only thing I see is the section "2.7.7 Direct Processing".  This may
allow me to do what I want but it forces me to abandon modularity of the
rules.

Again, I may be missing something but, why?  The original proposal had a
functional implementation of modes.  I built an XSL processor which used
them and they worked great.

I don't want to seem ungratefull to the working group for thier time and
effort.  There are some very good things in this spec.  As I built our XSL
processor I found many things which the old proposal didn't address.  The
IDAnchor is a good example.  I had to create my own version of this to
allow a "jump" to an element using its ID.  The attribute value templates
solve another problem I had to create a work-around for.  So, I can see
they put alot of thought into the draft, but still, the lack of modes seems
incomprehesible.

What am I missing?

-Mark Overton



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