Re: syntax feedback

xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on 12/14/98 11:00:27 PM

To:   xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
cc:    (bcc: Guy Murphy/UK/MAID)
Subject:  Re: syntax feedback






Guy_Murphy@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>> So for people doing their own Web site on Geocities, in all
>> likelyhood they'll stick with HTML/CSS, which in many respects is easier
>> than XML/CSS.
>Actually I find XML/CSS to be easier than HTML:/CSS because there are no
>stupid undocumented bugwards-compatible hardcoded rendering tricks to
>hack your way around. In other words, applying a CSS stylesheet to XML
>does what you expect it to. No more "why is there 40 pixels of left
>margin around that element no matter what my stylesheet does? Aha, its a
>blockquote".
Bugs, lack, presence whatever... has nothing to do with XML/CSS but the
browser in question.
If it's rendering engine is bugged, or it doesn't support an aspect of CSS
properly, you'll still
have a bug with XML/CSS.

>> The whole idea of XML is to break the data away from style
considerations
>> once and for all. CSS as it stands can't reorder, which means that you
>> have to mark-up your XML in the order you want it displayed... oops
another
>> broken model.
> Or that you have to do your transformation in a separate step from your
> presentation, one more simple and elegant model ;-)

Fair comment... except what language do you suggest? I have a
transformation language now. MS implimentation
for IE5b2, running on an ASP server. I'm quite happy. If the Formatting
Objects ever come along, they'll be
nice, if not...::shrug::
>> And who's bright
>> ideas was pseudo-classes? Talk about a hack. Did the WG run out of Jolt
>> Cola or something?
>A psuedo-class is a model for representing something that cannot be
>expressed in markup (like, this link is currently being traversed) so
>that it can be styled. Most people understand both what it is and how to
>use it in around one minute.

::chuckle:: Another fair comment. So what's :hover about?

It seems to me you're suggesting that nothing apart from CSS is required
for styling XML, and that maybe
something other than XSL would be best used for transforming XML, cutting
XSL out of the picture altogether.

Why sir are you here then? :)

If you are happy with CSS for describing the rendering of your XML that's
cool, CSS is a viable option for many situations... it can't reorder, which
ties your XML mark-up to the styling, thereby breaking your
data abstraction, one of the main purposes of XML, but if your happy with
that, cool.

I'm not, which is why I want XSL as a tranformative language.

Cheers.
--
Chris

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