Re: A would-be user's first XSL experience (long)

On Tue, 1 Jun 1999, Paul Prescod wrote:

> Chuck Robey wrote:
> > 
> > There is something to be learned here.  Todd Fahrner, and *not* Paul
> > Prescod, represents the type of person publishing tools *should* be made
> > available to.  This means making them useable, not putting in their
> > hands.  There is a strong tendency amongst knowledgeable programmers,
> > when making tools, to ignore useablility, saying "it they are that
> > stupid, they shouldn't be allowed near the computer".  I don't want to
> > seem to be putting (possibly false) words in Paul's mouth, but you have
> > to consider the tool's target audience.
> 
> Exactly. James Clark has made a technology preview for people
> experimenting with XSL technology months before XSL becomes a standard. He
> implements the language while he designs it to check that it is usable. He
> releases his implementation so that people *willing to put in the effort*
> can experiment with XSL while waiting for the browser-integrated
> implementations.
> 
> Criticizing its usability completely misses the point of the tool.
> Criticizing XSL's usability based on that tool strikes me as
> non-productive.

Did I leave the impression I was ciriticizing XSL?  I did not mean to do
that.  I would criticize DSSSL on that point, but not yet XSL, which
seems to lower the bar.

I have personally not decided yet.

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Chuck Robey                 | Interests include any kind of voice or data 
chuckr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx       | communications topic, C programming, and Unix.
213 Lakeside Drive Apt T-1  |
Greenbelt, MD 20770         | I run picnic (FreeBSD-current)
(301) 220-2114              | and jaunt (Solaris7).
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