Re: XSL FO competition

Sebastian Rahtz wrote:
> 
> Chris Lilley writes:
>  > Entries  should come complete with source code and be freely usable by
>  > others. Entries should take an XSL FO tree (either read in as an xml
>  > document or, if wished, by implementing the XSL transformation part and

> this would be covered by an "FO to LaTeX" converter, and an
> appropriate LaTeX style sheet?
> 
> what is the target? screen? print? `anything in a Web browser'? ie a
> PDF file? a browser plugin?

That would work for a static, print media, yes. I expect that to be the
foirst one to see light of day since Web printing is so badly served at
present.

>  > reading in the source XML document and the XSL stylesheet). Entries
>  > should output a rendered view of the document, in accordance with the
>  > intent of the XSL stylesheet. With demonstrably better rendering than
>  > CSS2 can produce, the object being to demonstrate that XSL is more
>  > powerful *as a style sheet language*. For example, implementing mixed
>  > vertical and horizontal writing systems.
> three problems.
> 
>  a) the XSL formatting objects are, so far, too weak 

You would notice that the competition starts with the release of the
*next* draft for that reason

>  to support any
>  interesting formatting which would challenge CSS. unless you can
>  promise the next draft will contain eg math and tables, I cry "foul".

I won't say ahead of release what will be in the release, obviously. But
the *last* release had some stuff that is not in CSS2, such as, as I
said, mixed horizontal and vertical writing directions. It even allowed
the specification of boustrophedon as a writing ystem, if you want to
represent ancient greek etc.

>  b) "demonstrably better rendering than CSS2". to do this, one needs
>  a test document, surely, which exercises interesting formatting
>  features.

I was leaving that up to the creativity of the participants.

>  c) one may be constrained by limitations of the XSL FO's in their
>  draft incarnation. suppose there *are* table FOs, but it turns out
>  they can express no more than HTML tables - then one cannot
>  demonstrate, surely, what the XSL formatter could theoretically do?

No-one is forcing you to take part, let alone ahead of the next WD
release.

> i am inclined to say that if no-one meets your challenge in a year,
> then the XSL committee might as well turn the lights out and leave :-}

Which was my point in saying that "if there are no entries within a
year, no one wins (literally)". Sorry if the irony escaped you.
 
--
Chris


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