Re: Re: Incrementing a Global variable

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Subject: Re: Re: Incrementing a Global variable
From: Wendell Piez <wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 12:28:06 -0400

At 10:08 AM 8/28/2003, Mukul wrote:

I agree with you on this point that f(x) + f(x) can be
optimized to 2*f(x) if f(x) does'nt do any side effect
execution.. IMHO, are we not trying to justify the
functional nature of XSLT from a pure computer science
point of view.. But probably we have to accept this
functional nature of XSLT, as the optimizations
possible, and the processing model it facilitates far
outweigh little advantages some *side effect
producing* features may give..

One of these advantages of this processing model is that we have a language that is specified in quite a modest number of pages (when printed), which has been implemented by a relatively large number of vendors in a way that allows stylesheets to be surprisingly portable between their implementations.

My intuition tells me that a greater tolerance for side effects in the language would threaten this status quo, which many apparently take for granted, but which is *not* a given (how many implementations of Perl are there? Does anyone have the option of building and supporting a Perl processor as part of their business strategy?) and which provides us (meaning, here, us little-guy users) with incalculable benefits every day.

A declarative language like XSLT works a layer above a procedural (even OO) one like Java -- notice you see XSLT implemented in Java, but not Java in XSLT (heh). This layering is consequential: XSLT is not a general-purpose language (notwithstanding the magic that Dimitre's FXSL can do), nor does it really need to be. A lawn mower is less general-purpose than a pair of scissors, but do you want to mow your lawn with your kitchen shears?

Perhaps someone deeper in the theory might comment on whether this intuition holds any water....

Cheers,
Wendell


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Wendell Piez                            mailto:wapiez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mulberry Technologies, Inc.                http://www.mulberrytech.com
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Re: Re: Incrementing a Global variable, (continued)

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Re: Re: Incrementing a Global, Mukul Gandhi	Thread	RE: Re: Incrementing a Global, Michael Kay
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